Dark from the Beginning
by EstaJay
Summary: In another universe, in another timeline, Yuri attends a Duel Academia that isn't plotting an inter-dimensional war. Not that he wants to be there. He was sent there to learn the values of friendship, or at least human relationships, but he is far from willing. A Yuri of the Academia became a monster, what's stopping him from becoming one again?
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1: The Magician

Duel Academia, the prestigious duel school located on an isolated island kilometres from the mainland. The Academia was divided into three main dorms: Obelisk Blue, the most elite students in both skill and theory; Ra Yellow, the average students neither quite failing or excelling; Osiris Red, the low lying students who feared expulsion due to their terrible grades...but there is a fourth dorm.

The Abandoned Dorm. Once it housed the Academia's honour students but a bit over twenty-five years ago every student, nearly thirty of them, disappeared overnight. There was no sign of struggle...or any sign that it was inhabited in the first place. Those students have been missing to the present day. Not a single honour student has been admitted to the Academia since then. The Honours Dorm had become the Abandoned Dorm, falling into neglect and disrepair. All students had been forbidden from those grounds on threats of expulsion.

But that didn't stop teenagers from being teenagers.

Dennis Macfield, second year student and budding entertainer, waded through the vegetation surrounding the Abandoned Dorm. At the end of his first year he had been promoted to Ra Yellow, to his great pleasure. He was one step closer to reaching his goal, to become an entertainment duelist that would rival the likes of his idol Yusho Sakaki...if he could get into his new dorm room. His seniors, being the kind and considerate people that they were, had locked Dennis out of his room. They gave him an ultimatum, find the key at the Abandoned Dorm or return to Osiris Red.

So now he trekked through the beaten overgrown path to the fourth dorm. Dennis expected it to be quick. The key was most likely just lying on the ground or tied to the gate, he doubted that his seniors would be that cruel to actually put it inside…

There was a rustle of grass behind him. This was a forest so there had to be animals right? A rabbit or a bird or...or a wolf. The wind howls...or was that a fox? Wait. Foxes don't howl, do they? His imagination was getting the better of him. This was the Academia, there wouldn't be any dangerous animals wandering the grounds. That would be a lawsuit waiting to happen.

Dennis saw a flash of red. Another student! An Osiris freshman from the looks of it but that was better than no one. He waded through the shrubs and branches and hopefully not past a snake nest to that bright patch of red-

Purple eyes.

A set of venomous purple eyes were glaring at him.

"Who are _you?"_

" BWAH!" Dennis yelled, stumbling to the ground.

A boy with purple eyes stared down at him. From the lack of light, Dennis could make out very few details but what his eyes were drawn to what was the Osiris Red blazer. He sighed in relief. It was another student.

"Did your seniors send you out here too?" Dennis said, a showman's smile spreading across his face. "Don't hold it against them, seniors love hazing the fresh-"

A hand grabbed his throat, choking his words and his breath.

"You didn't answer my _question."_ Purple Eyes said, remaining demonically polite.

"De-Dennis Macfield! Second year, Ra Yellow!" he spluttered. "Looking- room key!"

His throat was released and Dennis took a large gulp of air. He was never taking breathing for granted ever again. Dennis looked up but Purple Eyes was gone, vanished without a trace. Had he encountered the ghost of one of the missing students?!

He slowly rose to his feet. Dennis could turn back, but that would mean admitting defeat and putting a year's worth of hard work to waste. Going forward to the Abandoned Dorm though would mean encountering Purple Eyes again. He rubbed a hand around his neck, there were going to be bruises in the morning but by then he'll have a nice comfy room all to himself in the Ra Yellow Dorm. He had come this far, it would be a waste to turn back. This time he would be prepared for angry spirits haunting the area.

Dennis noticed that the closer he got to the dorm, the more red he was seeing. Not blood, luckily, but flowers. Red poppies creating a red carpet to his destination while red rose bushes poked through green shrubs. They were heavily scented too. He appreciated a nice flowery perfume but the smell surrounding him was near overpowering. It settled like a heavy fog over him, restraining his breath and clouding his thoughts like a noose around his neck.

He staggered into a clearing, one hand on his nose and the other rubbing his forehead in an attempt to dispel his headache. The Abandoned Dorm was completely covered in red flowers. The poppies that had guided him now blanketed the ground like spilt blood, glowing under the pale moonlight. The walls, gate and building were crawling with vines sprouting red blooms every so often.

Hidden among all the red, right by the gate, Dennis spotted a blotch of fuchsia and purple. It was Purple Eyes, crouched down and tending to the plants. Dennis took a step forward. Purple Eyes suddenly stood up and turned to him.

"I was wondering when you were going to show up." the boy said, dusting the dirt from his pants.

Under the moonlight, Dennis could now see Purple Eyes clearly. He was wearing an Osiris Red blazer but one that was at least twenty years old with the old white collar and lack of many buttons. The blazer hung from his shoulders like a cape but was obviously several sizes too big for its wearer's slight frame. Underneath was an old fashioned pink vest over matching pale blue pants and a long sleeved shirt, the blue almost fading into pasty white skin. A bulky white Academia-issued duel disk that was discontinued around the same time as the old uniform laid in standby on his arm.

Purple Eyes placed his hands on his hips and scowled. "What are you standing there like a fool for?"

"Admiring how your eyes glow among these blooms." Dennis said with a wink.

The specter was not impressed. "I thought you wanted your room key."

Dennis grinned. "You know where it is?" If Purple Eyes found it then that means he would have to search the Abandoned Dorm.

Purple Eyes jerked his thumb towards the building. Dennis' heart sank. "I saw some idiots in yellow trying to climb over the gate earlier. They gave up after a while and threw something over it. I assume it's what you're looking for."

"Thanks." Dennis said, walking up to the gate. He should be counting his blessings, at least it wasn't inside the dorm.

A thick padlock held it shut. He wouldn't be able to open it unless he had the key or a large pair of pliers. Climbing over wasn't an option either. There was nothing that he could grip on except the vines and he doubted those would be able to support his weight.

"What are you planning to do?" Purple Eyes said, leaning his head on Dennis' shoulder.

The yellow jolted forward, banging his head against the gate's bars. Purple Eyes had been a metre behind him a moment ago, not right at his ear. Now Purple Eyes was laughing at him.

"That wasn't very nice." Dennis said, rubbing his forehead. By the end of the night, he was going to have an entire collection of bruises.

"Well, I'm not a very nice person."

"You won't be making any friends with an attitude like that."

"Friends are a liability. All I need is to be the strongest there is."

'But that would be awfully lonely' was what Dennis wanted to say but arguing with the red would be pointless. Spirits were often dead set in their ways, trying to change one would either end in a waste of breath or a painful death.

Dennis took several steps back, careful not to run into Purple Eyes. He had heard that ghosts were chilling to touch and he didn't want to get colder on this windy night. The gate was an extra metre or so taller than him with the top made of spear-like points.

Purple Eyes lifted a fuzzy eyebrow, intrigued. "A card for your thoughts?"

Dennis smirked, he had an audience so might as well make this fancy. "Ladies and gentlemen!" he declared, as he had seen Yusho Sakaki do on tv so many times before. "Watch as the Daring Dennis overcomes the towering gates of despair!"

He charged at the gate, leaping off the ground when he was half a metre away from smashing his face into the bars. Tucking himself into a ball, Dennis somersaulted over, the spikes nicking the edge of his yellow coattails. He landed crouched on the other side, hands spread out to help balance himself. He stood up, taking a large gulp of flower-free air.

Dennis heard a single applause from behind. He smiled and turned to bow to an amused Purple Eyes.

"Entertaining." Purple Eyes said. "Three points."

"Only three?!" Such a tough crowd tonight.

"It was predictable. I was expecting that given your lanky frame and the spring in your step." Purple Eyes explained. "Also, you should have taken your blazer off. If the spikes had caught it, you would either be left dangling like a fool or split your skull on the ground. Idiot's blood would be bad for the poppies. Besides…" a flat smile spread across his face. "You didn't ask if I could help."

"Oh? How?" Dennis asked. Did Purple Eyes have a key or something?

Purple Eyes clicked. Dennis noticed nothing immediately but he saw the vines around the gate tighten as more slinked up the bars to join them. Then, with a sudden application of force, the plants wrecked the gate open with an ear-splitting creak. Pieces of broken chains and metal scattered along the ground. Purple Eyes sauntered through, head held high.

"H-How?"

"The plant spirits favour me." Purple Eyes said with a dismissing wave of his hand. "Now come along. I've been wanting to explore this place for a while."

Dennis had half a mind to retreat, room key be damned he could just report it to the dorm leader, but he couldn't help but be curious. Ever since he heard of the dorm from old Daitokuji-sensei last year, Dennis had an itching urge to explore the Abandoned Dorm. He would have too, if it didn't come with the risk of being expelled. At least now he had a plant-controlling ghost and the yellow seniors to scapegoat.

The pair entered the Abandoned Dorm, the red several paces ahead of the yellow. Purple Eyes' plants made swift work of any lock that got in their way. Luxurious was the first word Dennis would use to describe this place. Everything was decorated in a Victorian era fashion with the printed wallpaper and the dusty gold trimmings that trimmed the furniture. It made the dorm look at least a century old rather than its twenty-five odd years, creating a haunting timeless aesthetic. The dorm had originally been a subsection of Obelisk Blue and it definitely showed. The upper dorm's crest adorned every doorway the past and hints of blue peaked through the dust and mold.

"Maybe with a bit of clean up, I could move in here myself." Dennis mused.

"No." Purple Eyes said plainly. "I would rather be burned alive than have you live here."

"Fine, fine. But I'll visit." Then a thought struck Dennis. "It kind of stupid for me to ask now…"

"It's a given. You are stupid."

"Harsh." But in all honesty, Dennis had walked into that one. "So what's your name?"

Purple Eyes stopped. "My name?"

"Yeah, you know mine so I should know your's too, right?" Did he not remember his name? Maybe Dennis shouldn't have brought it up.

"The Cabbage Lord." Purple Eyes said suddenly before continuing walking.

"What?" Was he being serious?

The red turned to Dennis, his blazer flapping around him. "I am the Supreme Cabbage Lord of Interplanetary Purply Thorny Plants." he said blankly yet completely serious. "Fear me."

Dennis stopped for moment. He could be joking or his parents had been a few cards short of a deck.

"I'll stick with Purple Eyes." Dennis muttered to himself as he trailed after 'the Cabbage Lord's' disappearing form.

Considering that they were at a duel school and in a former Obelisk Blue dorm, finding a duel arena wasn't that much of a surprise. It was a circular room at the end of the main hallway behind a pair of ornate double doors that screamed 'ominous evil ahead'. Beyond that, Dennis could see absolutely nothing. The rest of the room was cloaked in complete darkness. It was only due to the way the fading light curved into the abyss and the duel arena crest above the door that Dennis had any idea about the room.

Purple Eyes was staring blankly into the darkness, his eyes glazed over with thought. Maybe he recognized this place? Could this be where all the students disappeared? Did...Purple Eyes die here?

"The darkness…" Purple Eyes muttered. "I...it _knows_ me…"

"You've been here before?" Dennis asked. He had a creepy suspicion that something culty was going on. Purple Eyes was an Osiris Red, or at least wore the uniform of one. Dennis wouldn't put it above a bunch of screwed up elitist blues to kidnap another student…

"No." Purple Eyes said, brow furrowed. "But the darkness knows me, it won't hurt me...I think?"

Purple Eyes took a step forward into the darkness, his steps slow and sluggish. Then something moved amongst the shadows or more exactly, if Dennis's eyes weren't failing him, the shadows themselves _moved._ The shadows rolled towards the red, slinking in small mounds like tunneling moles. They swarmed his legs and lapped at his feet, greeting him as if he were a long awaited master.

Dennis was still standing in the doorway, huddled on his little island of light in the middle of the sea of darkness.

"Hey, um...Cabbage Lord? Purple Eyes?" Dennis said, inching closer to the edge of the light. "Is everything ok…?"

Dennis stepped into the darkness and the shadows _pounched._ They abandoned Purple Eyes' side to attack him. It was like drowning as wave upon wave of shadows engulfed his body. He tried to paddle out and push them away but that seemed to only encourage the shadows, enthusiastically leaping at any escaping limbs.

"Purple Eyes!" Dennis cried, trying to get the red's attention but to no avail. "Purple Eyes! Cabbage Lord! Help! Please!"

But there was no response. Purple Eyes simply remained in his trance like state, oblivious to what was happening behind him.

Dennis was being dragged down, his pleas slowly becoming muffled and almost non-existent. He was going to die. He was going to die. With his last breath, Dennis yelled. He wasn't sure what exactly but the darkness pooled over him as the word rang throughout the arena.

 _He turned his duel disk on himself and leapt._

 _Falling._

 _Falling._

 _Falling._

 _Into the ocean. Into the darkness. Into his death._

 _But he didn't care. No one mourns a traitor._

 _And his duel disk flashed a harsh light…_

{~~~}

Dennis heaved, startling himself awake. He was on a bed. A really soft bed, better than the lumpy mattresses of the Osiris Red. He slowly eased himself into a sitting position, wincing slightly as his entire body felt sore. He'd have to check for bruises later, there would probably be colonies of black and blue settling on his skin.

It was dark. He could barely make out the faint shapes of a dresser and a desk from the moonlight filtering through closed curtains but nothing much more than that.

"You're awake. Took you long enough."

Dennis turned and there was Purple Eyes casually tending to the roses that peep through the curtains.

"Where am I?" Dennis asked.

"My room, or rather the room that I claimed for myself." Purple Eyes said.

Despite the low visibility, the room felt surprising warm and lived in rather than the chilling emptiness Dennis expected from a spirit's dwelling. "So we're in the Abandoned Dorm?"

"Where else?" Was Purple Eyes' tired reply. "I haven't moved you for the past three days. You're rather heavy."

"Three days?!" He had been out for that long?! Had someone report him missing? What about classes? If his attendance slipped he'd be demoted to Osiris Red again.

Purple Eyes whacked Dennis over the head, knocking him out of his thoughts and the bed. "Stop fretting. It makes you look more like a fool than you already are." the red said. "Besides, I don't see why you should. You're a competent duelist, at least, that's what your deck boasted."

"My deck?"

"So you're blind and deaf as well as an idiot. Wonderful."

"Hey!" Dennis protested, stumbling to his feet. "I can hear and see perfectly well."

"But what about duel spirits?" Purple Eyes' sighed as Dennis shot him a confused look. "I don't have time to give you a history lesson but in short, every Duel Monsters card is inhabited by a spirit but only a select few can communicate with them. Given how highly your deck spoke of you, I'd expected that you'd be one of them. I thought they had told you my name..."

"Your name?" So apparently Purple Eyes was making up the whole 'Cabbage Lord' thing.

"That is irrelevant at the moment." Purple Eyes scowled. He tossed Dennis his blazer and cards from somewhere. "Now come on, we've wasted enough time as it is."

"Coming, coming." Dennis said as he slipped on his blazer, noting that one of the sleeves had been completely torn off. "Hey! What happened-" but he was alone in the room. Purple Eyes had disappeared again.

...Next time, he was going to report any hazing attempts by the seniors straight to the dorm leader rather than go along with it.

Dennis found Purple Eyes once again at the double doors leading to the duel arena.

Dennis shivered as he remembered what happened the last time they went through those doors, the phantom feeling of darkness crawling on his skin and pushing him into the depth.

"You're not seriously planning on going back there?"

"Yes." Purple Eyes said, pushing open the door and entering the arena. "This place might be _the place."_

But nothing happened.

No creeping darkness. No mounds of shadows.

Absolutely nada.

"This is rather disappointing." Purple Eyes said. "I thought if I brought bait the shadows would come alive again…"

"Bait?!" Dennis should be running as far away from this mad spirit as possible. Forget Purple Eyes being an unwitting sacrifice, he was probably the one that made all the honour students disappear!

But once again, his curiosity got the better of him. There was something about Purple Eyes that was oddly familiar, as if Dennis had met him before. That and he genuinely enjoyed the spirit's company even if Purple Eyes was planning on using him as live bait for the darkness. Dennis stepped into the room and once again, nothing happened.

"May I request some light, if you don't mind?" Purple Eyes said, oddly polite and sincerely respectful.

"With what?" Dennis said. Was he expected to pull a torch out of his sleeve or something?

"I wasn't talking to you, idiot." Purple Eyes scowled.

Suddenly several balls of fire blazed from nowhere and flew to hover around the circumference of the arena, bathing the room in a gentle light.

"Thank you, m'lady." Purple Eyes said once again to seemingly no one.

"Duel Spirits?" Dennis guessed.

Purple Eyes nodded. "One of my uncle's oldest friends. She and others have agreed to serve and protect me while I'm imprisoned in this place." He scowled then said aside, "No, I'm not being overdramatic. That is reserved for dueling."

Leaving Purple Eyes to argue with invisible spirits, Dennis inspected the wall carvings that the floating fireballs illuminated. The walls were covered in some sort of hieroglyph with images depicting various items, such as a sceptre, a necklace and a dreamcatcher all with a fancy eye in their centre. Dennis would have thought that it was Ancient Egyptian lore if it weren't for the script that resembled Hebrew or something.

"Interesting."

"Ah!" Dennis yelped as Purple Eyes appeared behind him, despite being in the centre of the arena a moment ago. "Stop doing that!"

"Then be more perceptive." Purple Eyes' leaned over Dennis' shoulder, taking a better look at the carvings. "The Millennium Items. Interesting…"  
"You can read this garble?" Dennis asked as the red's eyes darted across the wall.

"Nope." Purple Eyes said plainly. "But my grandfather was always rambling about them. There are seven Millennium Items: the Ring, the Rod, the Key, the Scales, the Eye, the Ring and the Pendant..." He pointed to the respective image as he said the name though his hand faltered as it hovered over the upside-down triangle. "...though the Pendant is no longer whole. Most people call it the Puzzle in recent times due to it being shattered. I'm surprised that there's even an image of it whole."

"And how does this relate to dueling?"

"Everything." Something glinted in those purple eyes. A fascination, a passion. "The card game we know as Duel Monsters was based off the Shadow Games which, according to legend, was brought forth with the Items. Sorcerers of the Pharaoh's Court would summon monsters from stone tablets to do battle against the enemy or judge a guilty soul."

"And…" Dennis hesitated for a moment. Purple Eyes' had steadily grown more sinister over his explanation, as if the thought of such power was alluring to him. "...how did those monsters get into the tablets?"

The smile that cracked across his lips was cold and maniacal. "Through a Shadow Game, of course. Every soul has a monster that embodies it and when one's loses, it is ripped out and sealed in stone. Wouldn't be nice to be able to do that with cards?"

Before Dennis could respond, a dark fog began to swirl around them.

Dennis edged slightly closer to Purple Eyes. "Is it-"

"No." Purple Eyes said, cutting Dennis off. "This is different. Apparently, we have a guest."

They both turned to see a towering man in a black trench coat and fedora standing in the doorway. His eyes were hidden by a grey half mask and in his hand shone a replica of the Millennium Pendant carved onto the wall.

"So this is where you have been hiding your victim, foul spirit." The man said. Huh, so someone had noticed Dennis' disappearance.

Purple Eyes' smile softened into something more neutral and calculating. "Oh?"

"Release the poor boy at once!" The man declared. "Or I, the Dark Duelist Titan, shall banish you to the Shadow Realm!"

Dennis had no idea what the Shadow Realm was but he definitely didn't want Purple Eyes to be sent there. Despite the ghost being a callous little thing, he had grown on the yellow during this misadventure through the Abandoned Dorm. He took a step forward only for Purple Eyes to step in front of him.

"This idiot in _mine."_ Purple Eyes said, activating his duel disk.

"You leave me with no choice, spirit." Titan said, activating his own duel disk, a vest with a bat-like wing component spreading across his arm. "I will make your defeat swift."

"DUEL!"

Titan: 4000 LP

Purple Eyes: 4000 LP

"This shall be the beginning of your demise." Dennis' 'rescuer' said, drawing a card. "I summon _Infernalqueen Archfiend_ in attack position and with her effect, every _Archfiend_ monster has their attack increased by 1000."

A demonic woman with skeletal wings dressed in red and purple materialised on Titan's field. A ghostly blue aura surrounded her as her effect activated.

ATK: 900 - 1900

" _Archfiends,_ eh?" Purple Eyes said. "You must want this duel to end quickly then. There's a hefty cost to keep those monsters on the field."

"That is why I activate the field spell, _Pandemonium!"_

The fog that surrounded the duelists soon encroached the entire field, materialising into a rib like structure over the arena. The skulls of two horned beasts towered over the duelists and lava bubble from the pit in the centre of the field. The field spell circumvented the need to pay the lifepoint cost of keeping _Archfiends_ on the field.

"The wonders of Solid Vision." Dennis muttered to himself as he marvelled and shivered at the field. Not many people he had dueled played field spells so rarely did he get to see the full extent of the technology's capabilities. Not even the stakes of this duel could shake off its inherent wonder.

"I end my turn."

Purple Eyes quirked an eyebrow. "Really? That's it?" He said, unimpressed. "I was expecting more from the 'Dark Duelist' hell bent on sending this _foul_ spirit to the Shadows."

"I'd like to see you do better!" Titan growled.

"Uh, uh, uh." Purple Eyes said. "Don't break character on me now, 'Dark Duelist'. Your princess is still in need of saving." He drew a card, starting his turn. "I summon _Elemental HERO Avian_ in attack position."

Purple Eyes' _HERO_ made an appearance by swooping down from the top of one of the skulls to his summoner's field. _Avian_ flexed his broad wings, striking a pose of confidence despite his measly stats.

ATK: 1000

"You run _HEROs?"_ Dennis asked, surprised. It didn't really fit with the red's character. He had been expecting something darker and ghosty or at least plant related.

"It's a borrowed deck." Purple Eyes admitted as he set two cards face down and ending his turn. "But they are loyal and willing to serve. That is all I can ask." And there it was again, the softer eyes and quieter smile. The tenderness when he talked about cards that was absent when dealing with people.

"It's pathetic." Titan interjected as he started his own turn. "That puny monster will do nothing to protect you from your fate. Since I control an _Archfiend_ monster, I can normal summon _Terrorking Archfiend!"_

The male counterpart of Titan's preexisting monster appeared, spreading his own pair of skeletal wings as _Infernalqueen's_ effect increased his attack points.

ATK: 2000 - 3000

Purple Eyes gave a slow clap. "Wonderful. You summoned a big beater."

"And you will feel every drop of its power! _Terrorking_ attack that birdman! _Bursting Plague!"_

"Trap activate, _Mirror Gate."_ Purple Eyes said. "But since it's an opponent's effect that targets it, you get to roll a die to see if _Terrorking_ negates and destroys it. Go on, roll one...or don't you have a die to roll?"

"Who needs a die when I have my Roulette from Hell!" Six balls flew from the lava it to hover above Titan's hand in a circle.

"Fancy." Dennis said. If Shadow Duels created effects reminiscent of Action Duels, maybe they were worth risking your soul for.

"So you forgot to bring a die." Purple Eyes deadpanned. "That 'roulette' is rigged, isn't it?"

"Shut up!" Titan said with a frustrated growl. "The roulette landed on two, so your trap is destroyed. The attack continues!"

A swarm of locust exploded from _Terrorking's_ chest and engulfed the opposing _HERO,_ destroying it and taking out half of Purple Eyes' lifepoints.

Purple Eyes: 4000 LP - 2000 LP

As his lifepoints depleted, Purple Eyes' legs began to fade away.

"What?" Purple Eyes said, shocked as his body vanished from beneath him.

Titan chuckled. "This is the weight of the Shadow Game. Feel yourself falling into darkness. Let your legs become like stone, let your breath be stolen from your throat." The pendant in his hand glowed. "Foul spirit, your days on this plane are numbered."

Dennis tried to call out to Purple Eyes but the air felt thinning, making it hard to breathe let alone yell. His legs gave way underneath him and he crumpled to the ground. The fog, the darkness, was compressing on his entire being. It was overwhelming and Dennis wasn't even dueling. For Purple Eyes, who would be taking the brunt of the assault…

"In response to _Avian's_ destruction, _Hero Signal_ activates." Purple Eyes said, steady and confident. "With its effect, I special summon _Elemental HERO Clayman_ in defence position."

A spotlight with a silhouette of an 'H' shone above the field spell and from the light, a bulky figure leap down. He stood tall and firm before kneeling before his summoner.

DEF: 2000

With his remaining monster unable to topple the new _HERO's_ defences, Titan scowled and ended his turn.

Purple Eyes turned to his fallen 'captive'. "Macfield, stop overreacting. A strong mind will get you through this duel. I expect you to have that at least. Think of it like an illusion."

Was Purple Eyes trying to comfort him? Dennis took a deep breath, closing his eyes and slowly rising to his feet. This was an illusion, he tried to convince himself. Not real, not real, not-

Dennis' eyes flickered opened. The weight was gone and he could breathe easier now. He turned to Purple Eyes to say his thanks and to his surprise, the red was whole again. He flicked to Titan, who was gloating about his successful attack on his opponent. This wasn't a real Shadow Game, he realised. It was all mind tricks and verbal suggestion, misdirection and sleight of hand. Dennis berated himself for not noticing sooner. He considered himself a decent magician yet he had been deceived so easily.

Purple Eyes was smiling, genuinely smiling, at him with a finger raised to his lips. Dennis nodded in understanding and slumped against the wall. They were going to pretend to still be under the hypnosis, for now.

"You should be more careful with the shadows 'Dark Duelist'." Purple Eyes taunted as he drew a card to start his turn. "You nearly knocked out your little princess. I play _Pot of Greed_ , which is self-explanatory." He drew two more cards and a wicked grin spread across his face. "I activate the spell _Polymerization!_ I fuse the _Clayman_ on the field with the _Sparkman_ in my hand…"

The clay warrior leapt up into the swirls of red and blue above Purple Eyes and was joined by a second hero in blue and yellow.

" _Hero of Earth! Hero of Lightning! Become one and strike the earth as a new warrior!"_ Purple Eyes chanted, bringing his hands together almost like a prayer. _"Fusion summon! Behold, Elemental HERO Thunder Giant!"_

Where the two heroes once stood was a new warrior with _Clayman's_ bulk and electricity coursing from the blue orb at the centre of its yellow chest.

ATK: 2400

Dennis' interest perked. A summoning chant? That wasn't commonly used by anyone outside of action duelists and that fusion motion, Dennis swore that he had seen it somewhere before.

"With _Thunder Giant's_ effect, I destroy your _Infernalqueen."_ Purple Eyes said as his _HERO_ sent a ball of electricity at the female fiend. "And now your _Terrorking_ loses its attack boost. So how are you going to defeat this 'punny monster', 'Dark Duelist'?"

ATK: 3000 - 2000

Titan growled. "This isn't the end spirit! _Pandemonium_ activates! Since an _Archfiend_ monster was destroyed outside of battle-"

"Don't bother with explaining effects." Purple Eyes rudely interrupted. "I know what the cards do and duel disks are automated to carry the effects out."

"I add _Desrook Archfiend_ to my hand." Titan said somberly.

" _Thunder Giant_ attacks _Terrorking."_ Purple Eyes said. "Though it will be revived with the effect of _Desrook,_ you'll still take the damage."

Another ball of electricity was sent at Titan's remaining monster, destroying it before returned to the field as Titan discarded.

Titan: 4000 LP - 3600 LP

But as his lifepoints fell, Titan gave an anguished cry as if the holographic lightning that bounced off of his monster had electrocuted him as well.

"What's going on?!" the man demanded as he tried to stave off the lingering pain.

"Nothing. Just an extremely _shocking_ attack." Purple Eyes said with an unnerving chuckle. "You're not the only one that the shadows favour. I place one card face down and end my turn."

Real damage. Purple Eyes was dealing real damage. Dennis could feel his legs starting to shake while Titan on the other side of the arena looked just about ready to forfeit the duel. The crazed dilated eyes, the unhinging satisfaction at another's suffering...

"Th-this isn't worth it!" Titan cried, backing away towards the entrance. His facade of confidence completely broken. "Keep the boy!"

The cowering man would have fled the arena if mounds of darkness hadn't made their appearance. They blocked the entrance and surrounded the perimeter of the field, chattering and hissing. Dennis slowly edged away from the wall to avoid being overtaken by the shadows again.

"What are these things?!" Titan demanded.

"Our audience, of course! They've finally arrived." Purple Eyes said grandly, arms extended like an announcer. "So hurry up and make your move. Don't forget, though, this is a Shadow Game."

With no other choice, Titan reluctantly drew a card to start his turn. Though shaking, he perked slightly at his new card. "This will end this! I tribute _Terrorking Archfiend_ for _Skull Archfiend of Lightning!"_

Titan's new monster appeared in a strike of lighting, taking the former fiend's place. It towered over Purple Eyes' _Thunder Giant_ with white bony wings extended and a deep scowl planted on its skull-like face.

ATK: 2500

"Amazing! You summoned a monster stronger than my own!" Purple Eyes said enthusiastically. "Now hurry up and attack."

After such a declaration, Dennis expected Titan to end his turn there. Purple Eyes was obviously baiting him and that face down would probably be a _Mirror Force_ or something.

"Come on, 'Dark Duelist', hurry up."

But Titan was hesitating, unsure whether to attack or not.

"Hurry up. Hurry up. Hurry up." Purple Eyes chanted softly, dynamic increasing with every phrase.

"Hurry up."

" _Hurry up._ "

The spectating shadow creatures joined in Purple Eyes' maniacal mantra, swaying and chittering with each word.

" _Hurry up!"_

" _ **Hurry up!"**_

" _Skull Archfiend_ attacks _Thunder Giant!"_ Titan said suddenly, unnerved and terrified.

Purple Eyes' hand moved to activate his face down but the he stopped. A bolt of lightning struck down the _HERO_ and... the attack went through. _Thunder Giant_ was destroyed.

Purple Eyes: 2000 LP - 1900 LP

"It was a bluff?" Dennis said. Why would Purple Eyes want to get his monster destroyed?

"Ha, ha." Titan laughed, gaining confidence. "HahahaHAhaHAHAHA! See spirit! You will fall to-"

"'The might of the Dark Duelist blah blah blah, yada yada yada'." Purple Eyes said, flipping back to a more grounded and sarcastic tone. Was this guy bipolar or something? "I draw. I activate _Fusion Recovery_ to return _Avian_ and _Polymerization_ to my hand. Next I activate _Polymerization_ and fuse the _Avian_ and _Burstinatrix…"_

Once again, the red and blue of the spell swirled behind Purple Eyes as his winged warrior reappeared alongside a red female warrior.

" _Hero of wind! Hero of flames! Become one and soar through the skies as a new warrior! Fusion summon, Elemental HERO Flame Wingman!"_

But nothing appeared.

"Uh...is your monster stuck in traffic or something?" Dennis asked as he scanned the arena for any sign of Purple Eyes' monster.

Titan's ego boosted at the sight of his opponent's empty field. "See how futile your struggle is, spirit?! Even your monsters have abandoned you!"

Purple Eyes simply shrugged. "Flame _Wingman_ is sadly a fan of dramatics and refuses to make an appearance on an inappropriate stage. So, I activate the field spell _Skyscraper!"_

The skeletal structure of _Pandemonium_ shattered as black buildings erupted from the ground, soaring upwards and through the ceiling. Dennis had seen _Skyscraper_ activated in the past, three prominent duelists in the pro leagues utilized the archetype after all, but he had never seen it like this. The normally bright lights of the buildings had been dimmed to darkness and a purple mist swirled around their feet. The shadow mounds had infested the new walls, swarming like flies to a corpse and with the way the duel was going, it was going to end with a new one.

High above, on the tallest spire and half cloaked in shadows, a lone figure stood boldly.

ATK: 2100

"Ha…" Titan said. "Your monster's attack is still lower…"

"But that's the point. You apparently don't know the effect of _Skyscraper."_ Purple Eyes said, voice sinking once again. "But don't wait for my explanation, let the card speak for itself. _Flame Wingman_ attacks _Skull Archfiend. Skydiving Hellfire!"_

The _HERO_ leapt from his perch and dove towards the _Archfiend_ , flames blazing around him as the field spell increase his attack.

ATK: 2100 - 3100

 _Skull Archfiend_ was destroyed in a fiery inferno, sparks leaping from the main blaze to singe Titan.

Titan: 3600 LP - 3000 LP

"Now _Flame Wingman's effect_ activates." Yuri grinned.

The warrior landed in front of Titan, his dragon like arm raised and spewing fire as Titan took damage equal to his destroyed monster's attack.

"GRAAHH!"

Titan: 3000 LP - 500 LP

"Heh...heh…" Titan heaved. His coat had been reduced to a collection of burnt rags over his shoulders and his mask was cracked in several places. "Heh...heh...ha! I...still have lifepoints...on my...next...turn-"

"There is no next turn." Yuri said, activating his face down. "Quick-play spell, _De-Fusion."_

 _Flame Wingman_ bowed as he dissolved into his fusion materials. _Elemental HEROes Avian_ and _Burstinatrix_ towered over the cowering duelist.

"Direct attack."

Titan: 500 LP - 0 LP

The field dissolved around them as the duel ended. Titan collapsed into a crumpled heap, the 'Dark Duelist' utterly defeated. The shadows pounced, more and more of the little mounds consuming the fallen duelist as the man was too weak to resist.

Dennis quickly looked away, not wanting to witness what very nearly became his fate three days ago. He instead turned to Purple Eyes, who had yet to move since he declared the final attack.

"Hey, you won." Dennis said, placing a hand on his shoulder and turning to face him.

Those purple eyes were _glowing._ His face was blank and he was completely unresponsive, just like when they first entered the arena.

" _The darkness…"_ Purple Eyes muttered. " _Make me whole again…"_

"No, no, no, no!" Dennis cried, furiously shaking the smaller boy. "Don't do this again!"

Something cracked. Something rumbled.

Dennis looked up to see that the ceiling was crumbling. Apparently, the buildings were just as real as the attacks and had pierced the roof. The shadows, having had their fill of Titan, began creeping closer. Though it was unlikely they would harm Purple Eyes, Dennis himself was still a prime target.

"We've got to go _now."_ Dennis said, hoisting Purple Eyes over his shoulders. For a spirit, he felt surprisingly solid and heavy.

" _...help me...become one…"_ Purple Eyes continued to mumble.

"Maybe later, when we're not about to be crushed!"

Dennis sprinted for the doorway, leaping over the collective mounds of shadows in his way. However, just as he was about to reach the exit, a large piece of plaster fell, blocking the doorway and their only escape route.

The shadows, having finally decided that Dennis _would_ make a tasty meal, were encroaching and he was forced to back up as far as he possibly could. What happened next, Dennis wasn't quite sure. There was a blinding light and the sound of flapping wings and hooves. Then he was outside the Abandoned Dorm, the building crumbling behind the vine wreathed gates.

"Wha...?"

Dennis turned to see a blonde woman dressed in a customised version of the old Obelisk Blue uniform. Her duel disk was active with an effect monster and a ritual monster on the holographic blade, despite no holograms being in sight.

"Tenjoin-sensei?" Dennis said as the teacher approached.

"Macfield-kun! You made it out alive." She smiled, deactivating her duel disk. She perked when she noticed the boy he was carrying on his back. "Oh? And you found Yuri-kun, too."

"Yuri? You know him?"

"Yes, he's the nephew of an old friend." Tenjoin-sensei said. "He entered the Academia on the recommendation of his uncle...though no one has seen him since he arrived a week ago."

"So he's not a ghost?" Dennis said dumbly. To think he had been going off the wrong assumption this entire time.

"No, Macfield, I am very much alive." a now lucid Purple Eyes, or rather Yuri, said. "Though I wouldn't mind being dead. Imagine the fun of haunting and possessing people."

Yuri kicked himself off Dennis' back and, in one fluid motion, landed gracefully before Tenjoin-sensei.

"Asuka-san." Yuri said with a Cheshire grin.

"It's Tenjoin-sensei, Yuri-kun." the teacher said, arms crossed.

"Asuka- _sensei."_ Yuri said instead, trying to get a rise out of the woman. "I entered the Abandoned Dorm, forbidden grounds to all students…"

There was crash as another part of the dorm crumbled. "I can see that." Tenjoin-sensei said. "And no, you are not getting expelled. Neither is Macfield-kun."

Dennis sighed in relief. Yuri's smile, however, cracked into a scowl.

"But I demolished school property!" he protested. "I held another student hostage for three days! Shouldn't I be punished?"

"Hostage...?" Dennis said. "Wait! You did all this to get expelled? But why?!" He had poured blood, sweat and tears into his efforts to enter Duel Academia. He couldn't possibility think of a reason why someone would actively try to get expelled.

The red's scowl deepened. "Why not? This is a school based on a _card game._ I can learn the entire curriculum from my grandfather after a bottle of hot sauce. What's the point?"

"The point is that you learn the values of good sportsmanship and friendship." Tenjoin-sensei said before Dennis could say anything. "Both myself and your uncle are well aware of your capabilities. We're not trying to patronize you but you need more people in your life."

"More people? I have three younger brothers and nearly half a dozen meddling cousins! The last thing I need is more nuisances. Besides, 'friends' are a weakness. All that matters it being the strongest there is."

"And what will you do when you're the strongest?"

"I'll have all the power to crush anyone who opposes me."

The woman sighed, massaging her temples. "Judai was right. You are a difficult case." She muttered. She pulled a card out of her deck and handed it to Yuri. "While you won't be expelled, you will still be punished. From here on out, all your actions will be closely monitored. Don't think that you'll be able to get away with another stunt like this."

Yuri took one look at the card and growled. "Great. Another jailer."

Tenjoin-sensei then turned to Dennis causing him to straighten immediately. "As for you, Macfield-kun...you should have reported your seniors' actions to your dorm leader. For now, you'll have to share your room with Yuri-kun."

"Bunk with him?!" Yuri said. "But he snores! Loudly!"

Dennis was about to protest too but after a moment, he realised this 'punishment' wasn't that bad. Sure he won't have a room to himself anymore but after a year of bunking with two other students in Osiris Red, he wouldn't mind the company. At least he hadn't been demoted.

"Ok." he said with a shrug. It could have been a whole lot worse.

Yuri shot him a look of betrayal. "I will murder you in your sleep."

Dennis should have flinched or something, but after what had happened over the past couple days, a death threat was nothing. He just laughed. To quote his idol: the real fun starts here.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2: The High Priestess

" _Yuuuuuuriiiii-ch-ch-chaaannnn, it's tooo c-c-cooooold_!" a potted pitcher plant whined.

"Patience please, Nepenthes-darling, all you precious dears." Yuri cooed. "Just a couple more moments is all I ask."

The duel spirit pouted, the lid of her pitcher drooping and her humanoid bait crossing its arms from its seat on her pitcher, but her complaints quietened to a slight grumble. Altogether, there were five duel spirits lazing in clay flower pots. Dionaea, Nepenthes' fellow Traptrix, also showed visible discomfort at the room's climate, stems slumped and bait shivering, but had taken to distracting herself in conversation with the other venus flytrap.

Fly Trap and Squid Drosera were the only duel spirits that remained from his original deck. They had been surprising quiet since Yuri had arrived at the Academia and have yet to tell him what happened to the rest of the Predaplants _._ He was certain that his idiot of an uncle had something to do with it but his memories of the months leading up to his enrollment were still blurred. (And he still felt so hollow and empty and _alone._ He shouldn't feel so small, he should be bigger. Tail, claws, _fangs…)_

The final one was one of his uncle's childhood duel spirits, a feisty little thing named Dandylion. It got along well enough with the rest of the plants but avoided Yuri with a wary suspicion. Yuri didn't blame the spirit, humans were foul beings to the fault. Case in point, himself.

Yuri cranked the thermostat up several degrees and began setting up the vaporizer. Most of the spirits were tropical plants and favoured high humidity.

" _You spoil those girls_." Burstinatrix said, fading into visibility.

"They're very dear to me, mil'lady." Yuri replied as the air grew heavier and stickier. It was slightly uncomfortable but the sighs of relief from the plant spirits made it worthwhile.

With a more hospitable climate, the plant spirits became energized. Vines began to crawl across the floor, twisting around the legs of chairs and desks and creeping up the walls. A pleasant aroma filled the air, sweet yet slightly meaty with a hint of rot, the perfect lure of any insects to their death. Yuri let some energy flow freely through his bonds with the spirits, allowing for some tendrils to become solid.

" _You do share this room, remember_?" Burstinatrix said. " _I don't think that Macfield-san or the Performages would take too kindly to such temperatures."_

Yuri scowled at the mention of their absent roommates. "They'll just have to deal with it."

The lady hero sighed. " _Please don't tell me this is about Xyz summoning."_

"...possibly." Yuri admitted. His eyes, however, drifted to the walls. Posters of Pro League duelists were plastered like wallpaper, all courtesy of Macfield. They depicted contemporary champions like Hell Kaiser and Phoenix to the original King of Games and his adversaries; and the largest, easily twice the size of any other poster, advertised the advent of Action Duels with the founder and his ace commanding attention. A man in red and a monster in white. The pioneer of entertainment dueling and the selfish coward who abandoned a championship match.

" _You can't hate him forever._ " Burstinatrix said, having followed his gaze. " _And you can't hate Macfield-san by extension."_

"His ace is _Perfor_ mage Trapeze _Magician._ He idolises _that man_. He says _'Ladies and Gentlemen'..."_

" _One of your brothers is like that."_ Burstinatrix pointed out. " _You were like that."_

"That doesn't-"

"What's that smell?!"

Both turned to see Macfield at the door, one hand at his nose to snuff out the smell.

"Did you kill someone in here or something?" Macfield said.

"Not yet…" Yuri mumbled.

"And how'd it get so sticky?" Macfield said while tramping across the room. "And what's with all the empty flower pots?"

Vines retreated from his path and faded from the physical plane before he could see them. The Predaplants growled and snapped as he passed. Yuri would have given them the energy they needed to trip their annoying roommate but Burstinatrix monopolised anything he sent through the bond and was slowly becoming more corporal.

" _Don't_." She warned, placing a hand on Yuri's shoulder. But Yuri wanted so badly to be rid of the other boy. It would be all too easy to make his death look like an accident.

"What we need here is a bit of fresh air!"

Macfield threw a window open and a chilling breeze invaded. Dionaea, being right in front of the window, took the brunt of the assault and was knocked from her ledge.

" _Eeek_!" the flytrap cried, clamping shut and retreating into herself.

" _How dare you?!"_ Nepenthes shrieked. The pitcher plant lashed out and Yuri brought the attacking vine into existence. However before it could strike Macfield, Burstinatrix intervened and caught the vine.

"Behave, the both of you!" She said, fully corporeal in the human plane.

Macfield's eyes widened at the sight of the duel monster. "What?!"

He was an unbearable combination of his synchro trash brother and that man. Loud, obnoxious and completely unaware of his surrounding coupled with an entertainer's ego. Yuri wanted so badly to just throw him out the window but the Performages were appearing in their transparent form, ready to protect their master, while Burstinatrix remained between them to intercept or at least lessen any blows thrown at Macfield.

"We're leaving." Yuri said, taking Dionaea by the pot and cradling her in his arms. He sent streams of energy to the other plant spirits, giving them the ability to carry their pots but not enough to be visible to the 'blind' eye, then jumped out the window.

The dorm room was on the third floor. It would have been quite the fall, especially if one landed on their head, but Yuri had leaped from greater heights on an Action Field. He landed in a graceful crouch on the ground with a gentle clatter of clay as the other spirits followed suit. Well, only Nepenthes and the Predaplants, he only heard three clatters and Dandylion wasn't one for his 'dramatics'.

"We'll find a better place, dear, don't you worry." He reassured the whimpering spirit, following the dirt path. There had to be at least one place on this island that would satisfy his plants. "And we'll get revenge on that idiot Macfield for what he did."

" _Please don't hurt Macfield-san_." Dionaea said, her jaw opening slightly. " _He didn't mean it. He didn't know I was there. It was just an accident."_

" _But you could have fallen!"_ Nepenthes yelled, taking larger leaps so that she was eye level with her sister.

" _It was my fault for being up there."_

And it was Yuri's fault for putting her up there in the first place. As much as he hated to admit it, Burstinatrix was right in holding him and Nepenthes back. They had overreacted to a simple, honest accident.

Acting on his impulses had always gotten him in trouble in the past, a trait that he sadly shared with all his brothers. Unlike them, though, Yuri had prided himself in his ability to reshape the situation to suit his needs, making any mistakes on his behalf insignificant. Or at least he used to. Something had changed when he arrived at the Academia. He couldn't think as clearly as he once had. He was losing his precision, his venom...

" _Hey, Yuri-chan."_ Nepenthes said, pulling him out of his thoughts. " _Random question. What do you have against Xyz summoning?"_

The boy sighed. This was going to come up eventually. "Let's say it started with a certain brother of mine and a certain Xyz monster that he would always use to disrupt my plays and ended with a realisation of how...extensive the rank four toolbox can be." It was a little vendetta he'd had since childhood due to repeated encounters with _Castel the Skyblaster Musketeer_ and his bouncing effect that then extended to the entire summoning method in general. Petty, yes, but if there was one thing that he was known for, it was being petty.

" _Does that mean you hate us_?" Dionaea asked meekly. " _Me and Nepenthes are Traptrix, a...how do humans say it...Xyz archetype. Our eldest sister is an Xyz monster, so does that mean-"_

"No, no, dears!" Yuri exclaimed, snuggling the spirit. "It's just a silly little thing. Nothing that will affect you girls."

" _But you won't ever summon Rafflesia-neechan will you_?" Nepenthes said.

"It would be very unlikely." Yuri admitted. "I am partial to Fusion, after all...and to the left now everyone."

Yuri sidestepped left with the potted plant spirits doing the same. Nepenthes and Dionaea had their baits portray confusion but for the Predaplants, they knew exactly what was coming. It was what Yuri like to call his ' _Yuugou_ Instinct', created after years of dealing wild, reckless brothers that would ram down anything that in their way. It was the slight rumble in the ground. It was the distant sound of screaming, yelling and other angry noises. Sure enough, on the horizon of the woodland path, a group of students came bowling through. One diminutive red chased by three taller blues. Had Yuri and the spirits not stepped aside, they would have been run over and left in a tangled heap of limbs and broken pottery.

"Don't think you can run forever, dropout!" The lead blue, whose hair distinctly resembled a chicken, yelled.

Their prey, the little red boy with a mass of cyan hair, paid no heed to his pursuers and just continued running.

Normally, Yuri would have just let them be, as a lover of weakling hunting he knew how annoying it could be when some upstart ruined his fun, but instead he stuck his foot out just as the Osiris Red passed, tripping up the Obelisk Blues and landing them in a unsightly mass in the dirt. Maybe if he bested several of the top ranking students in a duel, Asuka would see no point in keeping him here and let him leave. Or he could land the lot of them in the infirmary and be expelled for being a safety hazard.

Chicken boy was the first to untangle himself from his companions. "Oi! What was that all about?"

Yuri didn't respond. He placed Dionaea beside her sister and activated his duel disk. It was an old outdated thing, another hand-me-down from his uncle that still had a physical card slots over the more recent holographic readers.

"Oh? Trying to be a tough guy, slacker?" Chicken boy said, a holographic blade appearing from his duel disk as it activated.

"Wha-what are you doing?" A squeaking voice piped behind him.

Yuri's eyes darted to the side to find that their prey was standing behind him. The boy was frozen in place instead of taking the opportunity to flee. Foolish boy.

"You trying to be a hero?" one of the other boys, who Yuri mentally dubbed Goon 1 since the Chicken was obviously the leader, said.

"There's no way a dropout like you can beat the boss!" The other boy, Goon 2 as he would now be known as, added. "He's the top ranking duelist our year level. He's got skill to rival even Hell Kaiser and the original King of Games!"

Yuri couldn't help but laugh at the goons apparent 'taunts'. He doubted that any of these brats would have even met a Pro League duelist, let alone measure up someone who was taught by them personally. It was one of the few good things that came out of his uncle's connections. As for being a hero, he was the farthest thing they could get from one.

They were slightly unnerved by his outbreak of laugher but Chicken remained firm.

"You think this is funny?" He said. "Well you won't be laughing for long! Prepare to crumble at the might of the great Manjoume-san! The first turn is mine, draw!"

{~~~}

' _This is completely unheroic, Yuri-dono."_

Yuri smiled but his eyebrow twitched slightly. The duel would be over this turn, if Flame Wingman wasn't being so difficult.

" _I, as a great and honourable Elemental HERO, refuse to attack a civilian in such a violent manner."_

"He is our _opponent."_ Yuri mouthed. He couldn't risk Chicken or their spectators overhearing his little conversation. "This is perfectly reasonable." He tried releasing a stronger flow of energy, hopefully enough to 'encourage' the monster to make an appearance, only to be met with more resistance.

" _Then I shall face him as a worthy opponent, not as a villain. The boy has proven himself as such, if only barely. Reduce the flow of power and I shall appear."_

Yuri scowled. Avian was slightly talkative but not overly so, mostly to give his two cents about what the next move should be. Burstinatrix would send him disapproving glances and criticize his actions after the duel but would always respond to his summon. So how did their fusion end up as such a theatrical boy scout?

"Something the matter?" Chicken said.

"Did that ancient thing finally break down?" Goon 1 said. "Shouldn't have expected anything better from an Osiris dropout who couldn't even afford the latest uniform."

"You should just give up." Goon 2 added. "Your field is completely empty and anything you summoned will be finished off next turn. Maybe if you surrender and hand over your rarest card-"

"Will the two of you shut up!" Chicken yelled at his goons, much to the surprise of his opponent. "This duel is just about over, so just let it end! Now hurry up and make your move before I have to deal with more backseat dueling."

" _That boy is a duelist with integrity."_ Wingman said. _"Yuri-dono, summon me to the field so that I may meet his challenge!"_

"What do you think I've been trying to do?" Yuri muttered to himself. But he couldn't help but be impressed at his opponent's plays so far. Baiting him into fusion summoning then taking control of the monster was an unexpected play first turn and unfortunately, there wasn't much Yuri could have done to counter the move. The rest of the deck had been curious about Burstinatrix's spiritual absence and had decided to be difficult for most of the duel. At least now they weren't actively working against him. It made this turnabout even more exciting. "From my hand, I activate _Miracle Fusion._ I banish _Elemental HEROes Burstinatrix_ and _Avian_ from my graveyard in order to fusion summon an old ally!"

"A fusion summon from the graveyard?!"

"Since when could a dropout do that?!"

Yuri simply ignored the goons' babbling and brought his hands together in a familiar clasp. " _Hero of flames that soars through the sky, return to the field for the final battle! Come forth, Elemental HERO Flame Wingman!_ "

" _The hero has arrived!"_ the monster declared as it materialised onto the field.

Yuri couldn't help as a smile creeped across his face. " _Flame Wingman_ attacks _Metfist the Infernal General!"_

" _Be vanquished, foul fiend!"_ Wingman added as his flames consumed the opposing monster while his effect burned the last of Chicken's lifepoints.

Being caught up in the theatrics of his battle, Flame Wingman had forgotten about the energy that Yuri had been pumping through and was no longer blocking it but instead letting it flow freely. The fire came alive, true heat blazing. The woodlands surrounding the dirt path were caught by the cinders, greedily consuming the fuel. The three blues were caught in a circle of flames, singed and burned.

"What in the world is going on?!" Chicken yelled, choking on the smoke.

His two goons were silent now, huddling closer together to avoid being burned. Huh, maybe Yuri should try this on Macfield or his brothers, it seemed to be an effective way to shut annoyances up.

Flame Wingman's eyes widened almost comically as he realised the damage.  
"Yuri-dono!" He growled, turning his draconic hand on his summoner. "What have you done?!"  
Yuri shrugged. "What I have been planning to do from the start of the duel. You should know me well enough by now, Sir Wingman. Besides..." he said, spreading his hands in a wide gesture. "This was all _your_ doing." Maybe three charred corpses would be enough to get him expelled from this damned place.

" _Kuri! Kuri!"_ A slight voice cried as a burst of light engulfed the area.

Yuri shielded his eyes from the flash of light and when it had dispersed, both Flame Wingman and the fire was gone, leaving three trembling blues in its wake. Their uniforms were slightly burned and Chicken was unconscious but otherwise, they were unharmed.

"MONSTER!" the two goons cried, fleeing the scene while dragging their fallen leader behind them.

Yuri scowled at his fleeing prey. How long would it be again until he would encounter another set duelists so eager to underestimate him? Word would spread thanks to those fools and while having a fearsome reputation was always good, it only make it harder to find live victims. Maybe he would have to result to property damage again or he could always give blackmail a try. But meanwhile…

Yuri looked down at the deck, which was still glowing slightly. He knew exactly which spirit had interrupted his fun and was most likely on his way to report him to Asuka. The woman was spiritually blind and deaf but she had spent enough time with his uncle to contrive an unorthodox way of communicating with spirits. Though there was only so much that she could to do him. Most of his deck was still missing, most likely the courtesy of his uncle, and his movements were limited by being on a damned island. Asuka could always lock him up in a padded room but that would be counterproductive to her goal of him making 'friends'.

"Y-you..."

Oh, Yuri had forgotten the little red prey was still there. He looked up to see that the boy was shaking violently, an entertaining cross between a deer about to be run over and a rabbit staring at its predator. His arm was raised and duel disk was active, though, which was admirable to some extent.

Yuri took a step forward and the boy took a step back. This would be an interesting little game.

"Something the matter?" Yuri asked. He could just accept the boy's challenge to a duel outright but sadly the deck was being unresponsive. If he started a duel now, the spirits would probably give him a brick hand and a couple of dead draws. Not that he wouldn't be able to win under those conditions but the duel would be more tedious than necessary.

"You...You…"

"Come on, spit it out."

The boy swallowed before looking Yuri straight in the eye. "You defended me from those bullies e-even though you had no idea what was going on but...you set them on _fire."_

"And your point?"

"My point?!" The boy squeaked. "You nearly _killed_ three people with a card game!"

Yuri couldn't help but chuckle. This boy was adorable, like whenever he could back his gearhead brother into a corner. "What's wrong with that? _"_

The boy spluttered. "What's wrong with that?! Manslaughter, _murder_ is the problem! A-and you shouldn't be able to do that with Duel Monster cards, of all things! The game's about having fun and smiling and-"

" _Fun_ and _smiling,_ you say?" Yuri growled.

The boy squeaked and took several steps back.

Now this was annoying. Yuri was able to find someone that would be somewhat amusing then the boy starts spouting more 'dueling for fun' and 'smiling' lines. He had enough of that from his mother, his naive baby brother, all of his damn uncles and cousins, _that man,_ even Macfield in the past week they have been sharing a room and now…

Maybe he could use this boy to get himself expelled.

Yuri raised his duel disk, about to activate it, when out of the corner of his eye, he spotted the plant spirits. Fly Trap was hovering under a buzzing insect, gently snapping and straining its stem as it tried to catch its prey in its jaw. Squid Drosera's eyes followed the same prey, its many maws trying to snatch the insect, much to Fly Trap's annoyance. But there were only two pots, two spirits.

"Dionaea? Nepenthes?" Yuri called, ignoring the boy's confusion.

The Traptrix were nowhere in sight.

Silently cursing, Yuri ran past the boy with the gentle clicks of clay on dirt informing him that his Predaplants were following. He could always hunt down the boy another day but right now he had a pair of wayward spirits to find.

It was easy to find their trail, Yuri didn't even have to extend his senses down the bond he shared with the spirits. Their pots had left a distinct trail of circular indents that lead back towards the Ra Yellow Dorm. The pot prints left were also pretty deep, like heavy footed stomping, and were far from uniform as they often wavered to one side or another. It was a sign of how inexperienced the girls were when receiving duel energy from a human.

They must have wondered off some time during his duel with Chicken. Some of the energy generated must have slipped into the Traptrix, even more so when Flame Wingman resisted his summoning. Duels always created energy but most of it dispersed into the atmosphere. Yuri was one of the few people who could channel it without the help of some sort of external medium, normally straight into his monsters while storing part of it into himself. It had become second nature to channel the excess energy to any surrounding duel spirits that he had bonded with, even if their card wasn't currently in his deck.

Dionaea and Nepenthes were still unused to the energy that he would channel to them freely. Yuri had only found them a couple of days after arriving on the island, after he had slipped away from Asuka and his idiot uncle. Just thinking where he had found them made Yuri want to let loose everything on the Academia students. A well where unwanted cards were dumped? Those fools were lucky that the spirits there were so disheartened that they didn't even think of seeking revenge. Such spiritual presence focused in one place would lead to a powerful and destructive force, maybe enough to take a duelist as a vessel. That was why he never took his grandfather's advice for granted. Cards really did have hearts and to break them would only result in disaster.

The trail didn't stop at the Ra Yellow Dorm like Yuri had hoped, instead it continued onwards towards the Obelisk Blue and Female Dorms. He tsked but continued to follow up the steeper path to the Blue Dorms.

"Hey Yuri!"

" _Yuri-bouzu!"_

Yuri brought himself to a halt just in time to avoid tumbling over Macfield, who had just emerged from the dorm. Burstinatrix floated behind him, once again an incorporeal spirit. There were two gentle bumps against his ankles as his Predaplants stopped behind him.

" _Move."_ Yuri said, staring up at Macfield.

"Nice to see you too." Macfield said with an idiot's smile planted across his face. "I, or I guess we, were just about to go look for you. After you and the clay pots-er, plant spirits, jumped out the window, Burstinatrix-san was still uh...visible and she kind of told some stuff about you and duel spirits and plants-"

"Get to the _point,_ Macfield." Yuri said, his foot tapping impatiently. He didn't have time for this blubbering.

" _Manners, Yuri-bouzu."_ Burstinatrix said.

"If he won't use honorifics then neither will I."

" _That's not what I meant."_

"Wait, Burstinatrix-san is still here?" Macfield said, surprised. "I thought she would have went back to the Spirit World or wh-ahHH!"

The yellow was cut off as tendrils from Squid Drosera grabbed him by the ankle and hoisted him up into the air. Fly Trap appeared appeared beneath him and started snapping at his hair. This, of course, was done with directions and energy provided by Yuri. His Predaplants knew him well, even the slightest gesture was enough to communicate a command.

The Performages, worried for their duelist, materialised in their transparent form and tried to pry the vines that encompassed Macfield. Had Yuri the time, he would have commented on how ineffective that was as having Squid Drosera release Macfield would end up with him in Fly Trap's gut, which was bad considering how unhealthy idiots were, or on his head with a cracked skull considering none of them were solid enough to catch him.

However, Yuri did not have the time to worry about that at the moment. He continued down the path, leaving his roommates and duel spirits behind him. Yuri knew that his Predaplants could handle themselves and they knew how to reach for energy from him even if he was a fair distance away. Burstinatrix would probably scold him later but at least Macfield wasn't fatally injured or traumatised.

Running uphill winded him more than it should have but then again, Yuri hadn't been this physically exertive since his youngest brother had the bright idea of playing 160-card pick up with their decks on an Action Field a couple months ago. That had ended with Yuri dangling his three brothers from the rafters after summoning-

...who?

He stopped in his tracks. Who did he summon that time? Chimerafflesia? Dragostapelia? Why was he even questioning something as faulty and insignificant as a memory?

 _Because you've forgotten._

Of course Yuri had forgotten, he was always forgetting things. It was one of the many faults of the human brain.

 _You've forgotten something you were never supposed to forget._

Then how was he supposed to know that he had forgotten it?

 _No, you were_ forced _to forget._

By who?

Yuri tried to shake away the thoughts, but they kept coming, stronger and stronger. Was it a spirit?

 _It was his fault._

Not very specific.

 _It was_ her _fault._

Was there two people involved? Make up your mind, voice!

 _Part of you, part of me, part of_ one.

This...this was making no sense.

 _You are not whole._

What was he doing again?

 _Become-_

A roar.

A dragon's roar rang through the air, bringing Yuri back to his thoughts, and face to face with the black head of a dragon.

"Aaahhhhruuuugghhh!" The dragon roared once again.

Yuri's ears were ringing but he remained rooted. Showing fear was a very quick way to become a dragon's snack.

The dragon itself was a beautiful creature. Like its head, its neck and tail was black and appeared almost plated, with large scales interwoven with veins of red. The scales covering its wings and body appeared soft and delicate, like rose petals, and arranged themselves like a flowering bouquet. From between those scales, like daggers in silk, came several black thorny tendrils, raised and ready to strike.

Yuri smiled, as soft and gentle as the dragon's petal scales. "Hello, darling." He extended his hand to pet its snout.

The dragon eyed him cautiously, but didn't bite his hand off. After a moment of contemplation, it bowed into his touch and nuzzled him gently as he brought his other hand to its jaw.

"Such a lovely thing you are…" While plants would always been his first love, there was something about dragons that was simply enthralling. The power they command at will, the majesty they expelled with even the slightest movement. But bringing them into this plane of existence was such a chore, the amount of energy to sustain a solid dragon form was ten times that needed to do the same for a warrior. He couldn't help but admire the power of whoever was the source-

"WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING?!"

Both boy and dragon turned to find an angry red, both in hair and uniform, storming towards them. Following her almost awkwardly were the missing Dionaea and Nepenthes, hopping behind her rapidly to keep up.

"Nepenthes-darling! Dionaea-dear!" Yuri said, dodging the woman in order to meet the Traptrix. If there was one thing that experience had taught him, never approach an angry woman directly unless there was a safe form of confrontation.

"Yuri-chan!"the two spirits cried, jumping into his arms. Their maws were wide open with their baits reaching out to give them a semblance of a hug. Surprisingly, they were solid and weren't struggling to maintain the form. It was either they had managed to distribute the energy they received well enough, which he doubted they would have been able to master in the short time that they had wondered, or they were receiving so much energy that they didn't have a choice but to become solid. Gently prodding at the Traptrix's bonds, Yuri traced the source of straight behind him to the red woman.

The woman's rage had dissipated, as expected when someone failed to get the reaction they desired.

"You're the one sustain their forms?" Yuri asked. He traced the flow of energy further and found that not only was she providing energy for the Traptrix but also for the dragon. "And for the dragon too? I'm impressed." And he honestly was. He knew that he was capable of doing something similar but the few times he had attempted to while on the island yet every time he had been left too drained to even maintain the form for more than several minutes.

"You're Yuri-chan?" the woman said. "I was expecting…"

"Someone older?"

"A girl."

Yuri bristled while the Traptrix giggled."'Yuri' is a unisex name. It can be for both boys and girls." And, not for the first time in his life, Yuri cursed his parents for their insistence on theme naming. Their family had enough people with names starting with 'Yu', they didn't need to name their quadruplets the same way.

A deep rumbling growl, a _laugh,_ came from the dragon while the woman tried to suppress her own amusement. "But it means 'lily'."

"My name is written in katakana, it has no meaning. Besides, it's written as J-O-E-R-I, which is basically 'George'."

Now the woman was laughing at him too, even the Traptrix had an outburst at his expense. Traitors the lot of them.

"Who names their kid that?" the woman finally said between laughs.

"I have an uncle named 'game', a cousin named 'planetary' and a brother named 'fusion'. My family has a thing for weird names. Just call me 'Cabbage Lord' and be over with it."

With a sweeping bow, the woman said. "It is an honour to meet you Yuri-dono, Lord of Cabbages. I am Aki Izayoi, Lady of Roses."

Now Yuri himself couldn't help but chuckle. "A pleasure Izayoi-dono. I can't thank you enough for taking care of Nepenthes-darling and Dionaea-dear." He said sincerely.

Had the Traptrix been left to their own devices, there was no telling what trouble they would have caused. While they may have settled with him, they were still spirits suffering from abandonment. He wouldn't have minded the chaos but then he would have had several uncles on his tail armed with friendship speeches. Not worth the trouble.

"Thank you, Aki-san." Dionaea said.

"Yeah, thanks Aki-chan!" Nepenthes added.

"Don't worry about it." Izayoi said. "Helping empty pots find their owner isn't that big of a deal."

"Empty pots?" Yuri said, looking from Izayoi to the Traptrix. "The pots were never empty or at least you should have at least seen the dears if not faintly."  
Izayoi shot him a puzzled look. "But they were empty, just bouncing clay pots, or at least until I used my powers on them."

"Used your…? If you don't mind."

"Um, sure?"

"Prepare yourselves dears." Yuri said to the Traptrix.

Reaching down the bond he shared with the spirits, Yuri found the flow of energy from Izayoi and cut it off. The effect was almost immediate as the pair lost their physical form and were once again transparent.

Izayoi blinked. "They're gone."

"No, we're still here." Nepenthes said, somewhat annoyed. Dionaea nodded in agreement.

"Interesting, so you're blind and deaf yet you can channel duel energy." Yuri said, mostly to himself.

"What are you-"

"AIEEEEEEE!"

Both froze as a high pitch scream echoed.

"Should we go?" Izayoi asked.

Yuri grinned. "Why not? It would be interesting." Besides, it was always fun to see people suffer. "Lead the way."

Yuri followed the woman out of the garden towards the direction of the noise, their duel spirits trailing behind them. He had been so enraptured by the sight of Izayoi's dragon, he still needed to find out its name, and later their conversation to have realised that the he had wandered into an enclosed rose garden. Maybe that was why Izayoi had been so volatile earlier, he had basically been trespassing. It looked so lush and well-tended that Yuri hoped to come back, regardless of whether Izayoi would allow him or not. Such beauty deserved to be properly admired and tended to.

Izayoi led them to a clearing which opened up into a lake with a blue dorm vaguely visible on the opposite shore. They hid themselves among the surrounding trees and shrubbery. Yuri was about to suggest that Izayoi dispel her dragon's physical form but the spirit concealed itself so well with the roses that peaked through the greens that there was no need to.

On the docks was a flash of red and three blues. The red was hunched over, possibly tied up, while blues towered over in a three point formation.

"Hey, isn't that the kid from earlier?" Nepenthes said.

Taking a closer look, Yuri saw that indeed it was the cyan-haired prey from earlier.

"Do you know him?" Izayoi asked.

Yuri made a dismissing wave. "We encountered him earlier today while avoiding a...scuffle with our roommates. Other than that, he's a complete stranger."

From their position, it was hard to hear what exactly students on the dock were saying but Yuri could probably guess that it was another trespassing incident only unlike him, the boy was going to get reported to a teacher. Should he intervene and 'save him again? Probably not. The last thing he needed was to give the boy a reason to get clingy.

However, for one reason or another despite them being completely silent, one of the blues, who was most likely the leader, called out.

"We know you're there! Come out!"

Izayoi's eyes widened but Yuri gestured for her to stay. Maybe he should have let her go instead, she did have a reason for being in the female area after all, he was curious how they could have been spotted. Besides, everyone knew what happened when curiosity met a cat and satisfaction.

It would be amusing.

Yuri stepped out from the bushes, head held high and duel disk ready should the need arise for a duel.

"Lovely day, isn't ladies?" He said, approaching the group.

The boy's eyes brightened when he spotted the other red. "Aniki!"

That caused Yuri to pause. Maybe he should have let Izayoi deal with this. The last thing he needed was another little brother.

"So you're the accomplice to this little pervert?" The lead blue said.

"Oh no, that was just a coincidence. I was just passing through." Yuri said. Though he couldn't help but have his gaze linger on the girl's face. She bore an awful resemblance to the Hiragi girl in Miami. A cousin or long lost sister perhaps?

"Yeah? Then why does he address you so familiarly?"

"Because he saved me once, like a hero!" The boy interjected, though he mumbled something afterwards.

The lead girl looked unimpressed. "So are you here to 'save' him again?"

"I don't know." Yuri said, taking another several steps forward so he was standing in front of the girl. The resemblance to Hiragi was uncanny, he might have mistaken this girl for her under any other circumstances. "I think that you would make a much better damsel in distress."

The girl flushed red, either from rage or embarrassment. She swung at him, which Yuri was able to easily dodge.

"Tut, tut, darling." Yuri said. "We don't fight with fists here, remember. We fight with cards."

So that was how Yuri ended up a rowboat in the middle of the lake with his opponent in another boat opposite him. The others girls (did Obelisks always come in groups of three?) had chosen to stay on shore. The prey-boy, on the other hand, was dangling from a tree branch over the lake. That boy should better know how to swim or else he would have a watery grave should anyone... _accidentally_ cut the rope.

"Don't you dare hold back." his opponent said.

"Wouldn't dream of it Moon-darling." Yuri said.

"Moon-darling?"

"Well you haven't told me your name yet and for some reason 'Moon' fits." And because, though he had been able to ignore it so far, the steady buzz on _'Enmoonenmoonenmoonenmoon'_ had been at the back of his mind since he laid eyes on this girl. She was familiar and not because she looked like Hiragi.

"My name is Serena." She said. "And you better use it!"

"Then call me Yuri." He said, circumventing his normal 'I am the Cabbage Lord' routine.

"DUEL!"

Yuri: 4000 LP

Serena: 4000 LP

"I'll take the first turn." Yuri declared, drawing a card.

"Haven't you ever heard of 'ladies first'?"

"I have but I didn't think that you would mind."

"What's that supposed to mean?!"

Yuri giggled. The duel had barely started and already Moon-darling, or rather _Serena,_ was proving to be quite the fun opponent to rile up. "First I summon _Elemental HERO Bubbleman_ in attack mode."

The lake began to bubble then from the depth a warrior in blue armour burst through, cape flaring, before taking his position before Yuri.

ATK: 800

" _I am the soap, I am the aqua, I am BUBBLEMAN!"_ The hero said in a raspy voice.

"This is why Lady Burstinatrix is my favourite." Yuri mumbled as he drew two cards.

"Oi! Don't go drawing cards whenever you feel like it!" his opponent yelled, noticing the move. "That's illegal!"

"No, it's _Bubbleman's_ effect. When he is the only card I control when summoned, I can draw two cards." Yuri explained with a scowl. "You should be able to read the card effects from your duel disk so there's no need for me to waste my breath."

"And here I thought you would jump at the sound of your own voice."

"But if I jumped, I'd capsize the boat or fall into the lake."

"That's not what I meant!"

Yuri grinned. "I know but it's so much fun getting your cute face all red." He hadn't had this much fun with banter since his last duel with his brother. Hopefully her skill matched. "Now I play the spell _Polymerization!_ I fuse _Elemental HERO Clayman_ in my hand with _Bubbleman_ on my field... _"_

Yuri extended his arms and began to chant. This was one of the few good things that came from that damned entertainment philosophy. _"Hero of earth! Hero of water! Become one and part the sea as a new warrior!"_ The two heroes combined in the swirl of red and blue as Yuri brought his hands together in a prayer-like clasp. _"Fusion summon, Elemental HERO Mudballman!"_

The fusion monster landed before Yuri with a large splash that rocked both boats. Thankfully, he didn't say anything besides a slight grunt.

DEF: 3000

"I end my turn." Yuri said. "A solid defence, don't you think darling?"

"It's Selena!" The girl yelled. "And all you did was summon an effectless wall with no backrow protection. All I need is a monster with a higher attack."

Yuri scowled, she was right. Though he had five cards, there was nothing he could set as backrow. One of the more annoying things about running first generation _Elemental HEROes_ was that there were too many cards that only worked on specific monsters. Maybe he could have set some as a bluff but he wouldn't risk it considering that his uncle did have some useful spells and traps in the deck that the space was better saved for.

"It's my turn, draw!" Selena declared. "And from my hand I play _Polymerization!"_

"Copycat! Copycat!"

"Shut up! I fuse _Lunalight Blue Cat_ and _Lunalight Black Sheep_ in my hand in order to fusion summon _Lunalight Cat Dancer!"_ As she announced her move a blue cat girl and a man dressed in a black wool-lined suit appeared behind her before swirling together in a mass of red and blue to combine into an elegant feline woman dressed in pale blue robes and wielding a pair of daggers.

ATK: 2400

"Oh wow! Who knew that 'moon' and 'cat' suited you so well, darling?"

Selena looked visibly irritated but didn't rise to his taunts. How disappointing. " _Black Sheep's_ effect activates! Since it was used as fusion material I can add a _Lunalight_ monster from my graveyard to my hand. I choose _Blue Cat!"_

"It's not like you had many options. You can't choose _Black Sheep_ after all."

" _I would prefer it if you stop taunting my master-nya."_ Cat Dancer said, flashing her daggers.

"I'll keep my comments to a minimum, madam." Yuri said. Though the moment the monster left the field, it was back to poking at the little moon cat.

"Who are you talking to?" Selena asked.

"Cat Dancer of course."

She chose wisely not to comment on that response. "I send _Lunalight Purple Butterfly_ from my hand to my graveyard in order to have _Cat Dancer_ gain a thousand more attack points!"

The shadow of purple wings appeared behind the monster as its attack increased.

ATK: 2400 - 3400

"Now battle! _Cat Dancer_ attacks _Mudballman!"_

The feline dancer spun, elegant and deadly across the lake to slice its foe in half. The warrior exploded into clouts of mud. Luckily, Yuri knew better than to channel duel energy into a monster that would be destroyed thus was spared from being covered in the hero's remains.

"And since _Cat Dancer_ declared an attack, you take a hundred points of damage."

The blades slightly nicked at Yuri as the monster made her way back to the other side of the field.

Yuri: 4000 LP - 3900 LP

"That was an impressive first move, _Selena_." Yuri said. "If only you could have dealt piercing damage, then your little dance would be more fatal."

"Are you patronising me?!" Selena yelled, her voice slightly more strained.

Huh, maybe dueling on boats wasn't such a good idea. Her constant yelling was sure to do a number on her vocals chords, she should at least try projecting her voice more at least.

"No, it was an honest compliment. 'Give honour where honour is due', after all."

Selena went red again. She was blushing? Adorable."I set two cards face down and end my turn."

"Then my turn starts." Yuri said, drawing a card. "I activate _Fusion Recovery_. Do you need an explanation?"  
"Just make your move!"

"Fine, fine."

" _You should pick Bubbleman_." Avian said as the winged hero materialised.

"Pardon? No thank you, sir." Yuri said softly.

He was about to choose to add _Clayman_ to his hand when Sparkman appeared on his other side.

" _Why not, Yuri-bouzu_?" Sparkman said, leaning into Yuri's shoulder. " _That would let you go for Tempest."_

" _And being indestructible by battle a useful tactic_." Avian added.

"But I'll still be taking battle damage." Yuri said. "And _Cat Dancer_ is inherently invulnerable to battle destruction, that would just be a waste resources."

" _But you never summon Tempest!"_ Sparkman all but whined.

"Because the situation doesn't call for it!" Didn't these spirits know when to shut up?

"Oi! Stop talking to yourself or _Cat Dancer_ or whoever and finish your move already!" Selena yelled once again, startling the two spirits.

" _She's scary._ " Sparkman said.

Avian nodded. " _And she reminds me of Burstinatrix_."

Yuri chose to ignore the spirits and continued his move as he pleased, adding _Clayman_ to his hand along with _Polymerization._ "Now I activate _Polymerization_ to fuse _Elemental HERO Sparkman…"_

" _But does Burst-chan like cats?"_

" _I'm pretty sure she's allergic but I'll ask one of the Hero Kids to check."_

"And I fuse _**Sparkman**_ and _Clayman."_ Yuri repeated, though the spirit still didn't hear him.

" _Spark-kun, we're going to fuse."_ Clayman said, prodding at the other warrior. That was why he was Yuri's second favourite.

" _Oh yeah, whoops! Sorry Yuri-bouzu."_ Sparkman said as he materialised alongside Clayman in the fusion spiral.

Yuri sighed but started the summon chant. " _Hero of Earth! Hero of Lightning! Become one and shock the field as a new warrior. Fusion summon, Elemental HERO Thunder Giant!"_

ATK: 2400

" _Eeek! Water!"_ Thunder Giant cried as he landed on the field. He bounced from foot to foot, as if to avoid the water, despite the fact that he was hovering.

" _You should have gone for Tempest."_ Avian said.

"But I need his effect." Yuri said aside, at least this wasn't as bad as the drama he caused in _Pandemonium._ "Which activates and destroys _Lunalight Cat Dancer!"_

" _Goodbye kitty."_ The warrior said as he sent a burst of electricity to destroy the opposing monster.

"Finally, I activate my facedowns!" Selena declared. "Since _Cat Dancer_ was destroyed, I'll use _Lunalight Reincarnation Dance_ to add _Lunalight White Rabbit_ and _Lunalight Crimson Fox_ to my hand. Then with _Fusion Reserve,_ I reveal _Invoked Caliga_ to add _Aleister the Invoker_ from my deck then _Polymerization_ from my graveyard!"

"You run _Invoker?_ That was unexpected." Yuri said.

"It works with my deck." Selena said with a shrug.

"A smart little thing you are for moving outside of your archetype. Now _Thunder Giant_ attacks directly!"

A ball of electricity was thrown at his opponent and Yuri channeled some duel energy to bring the attack to life. However, the deck flashed the energy was embargoed by another spirit, leaving the attack harmless.

Selena: 4000 LP - 1600 LP

"So you're back." Yuri scowled. If the jailer was here, that meant Asuka was on her way.

" _Kuri kuri!"_ came an angry voice from his deck, though the spirit didn't appear.

"And I hate you too." Yuri said to the spirit. Then aloud he said, "I set three cards to end my turn. What do you think, Selena-Darling? An impressive comeback?"

Selena didn't fall for the rise and was instead smirking. "You just gave me all the cards I need to finish this duel! I draw and activate _Polymerization_ to fuse _Lunalight Blue Cat_ and _Lunalight Crimson Fox_ to fusion summon another _Lunalight Cat Dancer!"_

ATK: 2400

"And with _Crimson Fox's_ effect, you're _Thunder Giant's_ attack is reduced to zero!"

A burst of red light erupted from Selena's graveyard and engulfed the hero.

" _Yuri-dono...I don't feel so good…"_ Thunder Giant said, looking a little pale.

ATK: 2400 - 0

" _Hang in there Thunder-kun!"_ Avian said. _"She's got to end her turn soon."_

"No." Yuri said, recalling the cards she had added to her hand. "This is the start of a world of pain."

"Now I summon _Lunalight White Rabbit!"_

The new monster appeared beside Cat Dancer, wielding a large mallet over her shoulders.

" _I pound and I pound, night after night."_ the rabbit muttered.

"And with _White Rabbit's_ effect I can return one of your facedowns to your hand and I choose the middle one!"

White Rabbit brought her mallet down on the middle card. Yuri scowled as _Emergency Provisions_ was returned to his hand though, in all honesty, it was better than card than one of the others.

Thunder Giant was cowering now, with his hands over his ears to block out the pounding sound. _"Is it over now?"_

"Sadly no, sir." Yuri said. "There's still _Cat Dancer's_ effect."

"So where's that cocky attitude now?" Selena cried from across the lake. "This duel ends here! By tributing _White Rabbit,_ your monster won't be destroyed by battle the first time…"

" _That's good right?"_ Thunder Giant said meekly.

"...and _Cat Dancer_ can attack all monsters twice!"

" _With double Cat Dancer's attack, plus two hundred from her effect...that's five thousand points of damage!"_ Avian exclaimed.

" _Do something, Yuri-dono!"_ Thunder Giant begged. _"I don't want to be cat litter!"_

A wide grin was painted on Selena's face. Yuri couldn't help but notice how beautiful she looked under the moonlight. "Now _Cat Dancer_ attacks!"

Then there was a sudden snap, as the prey boy's rope was cut and he fell into the water. His leg hit the edge of Yuri's boat at just the right angle to send Yuri tumbling in as well and capsized the boat. Yuri's duel disk automatically deactivated to avoid any water damage or electrocution, ending the duel. Yuri tried to calmly tread the water but the prey boy, who had gotten free of his bindings, insisted on clawing at him, pulling both of them underwater.

"Help Aniki! I can't swim!"

"Then stop trying to drown the both of us!"

The boys were quickly fished out of the water and landed on the deck of a small speed boat. The boy was on his knees and panting while Yuri pulled himself to his feet using the guard rails and tried to compose himself. On board was a scowling Selena, the two other Obelisk girls and, of course, Asuka.

"What will it take to make you behave?" the teacher said with a sigh.

"An interdimensional war and a parasitic insect." Yuri replied. "And by the way, _sensei,_ I trespassed in the female dorm area so-"

"No, this will not get you expelled." Asuka said. "And stop dragging other students into your plots."

"Or what? You'll tell my uncle?"

"No, I'll call your mother."

Yuri scowled. If Asuka called his mother, there was a good chance he would be dodging motorcycles and friendship speeches for the next week. His brothers were most likely to come along and knowing his youngest, he drag them all into some crazy scheme that would end in utter chaos (the bad kind), total embarrassment or, worse, everyone smiling. The worse thing about that was that he would still be left at the Academia to deal with the aftermath.

"Touche." Yuri mumbled.

"You're trying to leave?!" the prey boy cried, having caught his breath. "But why Aniki?"

"I am not your _aniki._ " Yuri growled. "And I've already explained myself once before. Find Macfield if you want details."

"Well just continue the way you're going and you'll be kicked out anyway." Selena said.

"Oh? I'm in red by choice, not by designation. I could be the best in the entire Academia if I wanted to."

"Really?" Selena said, storming up to him. "You were this close to losing."

Yuri smirked as he leaned closer to her. "No I was this close to winning." He pulled out a card from his duel disk. "I would have activated this the moment you finished your first attack."

Selena's eyes widened. " _Cross Heart..._ you would have taken control of _Cat Dancer…"_

"And won next turn."

"That was just luck! If I had picked another card…"

" _Emergency Provisions_ would have given me enough lifepoints to survive the turn. The other facedown was _Mirror Force._ Face it, darling, I would have been able to win.:

Selena sputtered and turned red, swirling around and retreating to her friends. Asuka was on the other side of the deck comforting the prey boy and probably getting his side of the story.

Yuri took this time to inspect the remains of the rope that the prey boy had dragged up with him. It was good sturdy stuff and wouldn't have been snapped naturally. Looking closer, the rope had been cut.

Yuri turned to the shoreline, where he knew Izayoi would have been hiding.

"I didn't need your help."

 _But thank you anyway._


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3: Page of Wands

In all honestly he shouldn't be here. This was the Ra Yellow dorms and Sho was only an Osiris Red. While there was no rules stating that students couldn't visit other dorms, other than boys weren't allowed near the female dorms, the prejudice between them made it very difficult for such things to occur, or at least it should be.

He still remembered his first day, all the dirty and smug looks he was shot just because his blazer was red. 'Slacker', they had called him. 'Dropout', 'worthless'. And the teachers all turned a blind eye, some even subtly encouraging the division between the dorms.

Yet when he approached the Ra Yellow dorms, he wasn't chased off or hunted down like his unfortunate encounter with that trio with Obelisk Blues. Though the students he asked still had that look of disdain but nothing more had come of it, not even a passing 'slacker'. Some looked almost weary when they saw the speck of red in the sea of yellow, but all were agreeable enough in pointing him in the direction of one Dennis Macfield.

It hadn't even been a formal invitation, just an offhand comment from Aniki to seek Macfield out if he wanted more information. Sho had originally searched through the Osiris seniors only to be told that Macfield had been promoted the previous year. Which made no sense to him. Aniki was obviously wearing an Osiris uniform, albeit one that was a decade or two out of date. Maybe he had been one of those students that kept the same uniform even when moving up to a higher dorm?

Come to think of it, Sho didn't even know Aniki's name or much else for the matter. When he had been tied up, he had heard mentions of 'Lily' and 'Moon' during the duel. Also Aniki seemed pretty familiar with Asuka - no, Tenjoin-sensei and he did use a classic HERO deck.

Yes, it all boiled down to the fact that Aniki used a HERO deck and had come to his rescue in a time of need (regardless of what he did afterwards). Just like what Sho had imagined a big brother should be like.

Gently, Sho rapped at the door. Macfield's room, he had been told. Behind it he heard some muffled grumbling before the click of a lock.

A bleary eyed ginger, a good head taller than Sho and wearing a yellow blazer missing its right sleeve, appeared. "Look, Tenjoin-sensei." He said, with a distinct American accent, looking directly over Sho. "He hasn't been back for the past several days. Sure he pops in every once in awhile but ever since the pot plant incident…" The yellow's eyes widened as he realised that he had been talking to thin air. His gaze drifted down to the red, slightly shuffling at the new attention. "You're not Tenjoin-sensei."

"Um...uh, Sho Marufuji, Macfield-san!" Sho spluttered, trying to avoid eye contact. "Aniki told me to come to you if ever…"

"Aniki?"

Sho could feel his face heating up. "Um...you know, slightly taller than me with really pale skin and purple hair. He uses Elemental HEROes and wears the old Academia uniform."

Silence.

Sho ducked his head down lower. This was a bad idea, he shouldn't have come. It was only a matter of time before Macfield started laughing at him or something.

"Come in."

Wait...what?

Sho looked up wide eyed to see the older student standing aside, leaving the doorway open for him to come in.

"Come on, don't be shy. This room is his as well and yours too by extension, I guess." Macfield was smiling, kind and inviting. "Not too long ago, I was red too."

Sho hesitantly entered the room. It was definitely bigger than the Osiris dorm, at least twice the size of the room he shared with Saotome. Though unlike his room which, despite being much much smaller, was made for two or three people, this one looked as if it had been hastily converted to accommodate an extra person if the air mattress by the window was anything to go by. The walls though, were covered in posters of pro duelists much like his own, albeit more sparingly.

"Don't be shy, take a seat." Macfield said as he plugged in an electric kettle.

Hesitantly, Sho sat himself on the air mattress, the plastic dipping deeper than he expected it to. "Um...aren't food and drinks not allowed in the dorms?" Sho asked. When Macfield began to chuckle, he quickly said. "B-but maybe the rules are different in Ra Yellow with you guys being a higher dorm and you're a senior too right so that means you got to have some privileges and-"

"No, the same rules apply to me as they do everyone else." Macfield interjected, though remaining good-natured. "Tenjoin-sensei and the head of dorm do tend to give me a little leeway though. I guess it's a consolation prize for being able to survive this long."

Sho gulped. "Is moving up to Ra Yellow really that bad?" Very rarely did students get promoted from Osiris Red with most either dropping out or remaining in the dorm for the rest of their Academia years. It was a depressing fact known by all and deepened his regret for flunking the entrance exam.

"Not really. Once you get past the seniors' hazing attempts, it's only a matter of maintaining your grades and staying out of trouble. It's more about...how do I say this nicely?" Macfield laughed again, sounding a little nervous. That did nothing to help Sho's nerves. "Well, what's Yuri like around you?"

"Whose Yuri?"

Macfield froze. Sho held his breath. The kettle clicked.

"You know, pale skin, purple hair, purple eyes and old Academia blazer?" Macfield said slowly. "Your big brother? That's what 'aniki' means right? Like 'onii-san' or adding '-nii' to the end of someone's name."

Sho almost didn't want to respond. Macfield had thought he was actually related to Aniki,or Yuri as he found out, when he actually knew next to nothing.

"Well…" Sho said, looking down. "'Aniki' is mostly used to refer to your older brother but also anyone you respect like an older brother and...well, there's also fellow street gang members-"

"Yuri's in a gang?!" Macfield exclaimed, backing himself against a wall and spouting random phases in English.

"What? No! Wait...maybe? I don't know!" Sho spluttered, jumping to his feet. "I don't know anything about Aniki, really! I only found out his name just now. He uses Elemental HEROes, saved me twice and nearly set some people on fire. That's all I know!"  
Macfield seemed to have calmed down slightly, though he still remained tense. "So you're not related to Yuri?" he said slowly.

"No."

"Nor are you in the same gang as him?"

"I'm not part of a gang anything!"

"And you can't summon man-eating plant spirits from thin air?"

"What does that have to do with anything?"

Macfield sighed and straightened himself up. "So why are you here?"

"Because...because…" Sho stopped himself there. Why was he here? What about that boy who threatened him and nearly killed three people made him want to follow even the most slightest suggestion? In fact, why did he follow him instead of turning back in the opposite direction? It would have saved him the trouble of being called 'pervert' by several pretty Obelisk Blues.

In all honesty, it boiled down to the HERO deck. Sho remembered one of his brother's friends, Yuki-san, who used the same deck. Yuki-san, Tenjoin-sensei and Nii-san had all gone to the Academia together and became stronger duelists because of it. That was why he had applied. When everyone else said he wouldn't be able to make it in, even Nii-san who called him weak in character and skill, Yuki-san believed in him. It was Yuki-san who told him that it was okay to be a red, he had been a red his entire school career and was an opponent even Nii-san, the reigning OCG Traditional Champion, struggled against. It was Yuki-san who saw him off at the docks with the promise to meet again in the Pro League Circuit. It was Yuki-san, supportive cheerful Yuki-san, who he wished was his actual older brother.

And Sho, alone in a competitive environment which saw him as nothing but a worthless dropout, imprinted all this on the first person who ever stood up for him in the Academia who just happened to use the exact same deck as Yuki-san.

A hand was placed on his shoulder and Sho looked up. Macfield, having lost all his previous fear, had a reassuring smile painted across his face.

"Looks like we both got dragged into his orbit." Macfield said. "Maybe we should start a club, or a support group."

"That would be nice." Sho smiled.

"How cute."

And there, standing in the doorway surrounded with empty plant pots, was Aniki.

"Hey, Yuri!" Dennis greeted as the red swept past. "It's been a while."

"Not long enough." Aniki muttered, crouching down and sifting through the closet.

Sho eyed the plant pots suspiciously. He remembered seeing them bouncing behind Aniki when he ran off yesterday but right now they appeared as nothing more than innocent, inanimate objects.

"You know, Tenjoin-sensei's been looking for you." Dennis said.

"She knows where I would be. Why even bothering coming here is beyond me." Aniki said off handedly, tossing various items out of the closet, mostly clothing. "And congratulation to the prey for actually coming to you."

"Uh...thanks?" Sho said. "Oh, and my name's Sho Marufuji by-"

Aniki turned to him abruptly, sending a chilling glare. "Was I talking to you?" his voice was far from deep but there was a snarl and predatory aura that simply radiated from his being.

Sho stumbled, his mouth was open but no words came out. This was too close to the Aniki that stared him down among the ash and dying embers, a hungry wolf to a lost sheep.

"Yuri, play nice." Macfield said. His tone was light and there was a smile across his face but everything else suggested a more assertive stance. "Marufuji-kun is your dorm mate and you guys need to support each other, not antagonise. Especially since you're both Osiris Red."

"Oh?" Aniki replied, a sly interest spreading across his face. "And who are you to say that? You left the dorm as soon as you could while I don't even want to be on this island." He stood up and turned to face Sho. "Dear little Marufuji-kun is the only one here in a dorm based on skill, not circumstance. He must have had such high hopes, coming to this illustrious school, and quite a legacy to live up to but to be shafted into red? It must have been simply heartbreaking and quite embarrassing to your brother."

Sho couldn't help but bow his head at what Aniki had said. It was the simple truth. What hope did he have when he was already at rock bottom, the red zone? He had come to the Academia to show Nii-san is worth as a duelist but to start off so low…

Macfield strode forward, placing himself firmly between Sho and Aniki. "That's enough."

That did nothing but amuse the other red further. "Trying to be like Tenjoin-sensei? You're far from a peacemaker, Macfield. What can someone who idolises that coward even do? Try to make me laugh? Smile?"

At that moment, a particularly strong gust of wind blew in the windows, sending papers and any lightweight objects flying.

"Wha-?" Macfield gaped while Aniki was muttering under his breath.

A piece of paper blew into Sho's face. When he pulled it off, though he didn't mean to read it, he instantly recognised the handwriting. It was the same messy scrawl with random words in English that he received near fortnightly since coming to the Academia. He was even able to pick out some familiar phrases of encouragement.

"You know Yuki-san?" Sho said.

"Give me that!" Aniki growled, pouncing at the other red.

Macfield grabbed the back of Aniki's blazer to try and pull him back but the momentum dragged the both of them forward, falling onto Sho in a mass of tangled limbs. The letter left Sho's grasp and joined the cyclone of papers, stray cards and clothes that Aniki had tossed out of the closet earlier. The wind wasn't subsiding, if anything it was growing stronger.

"What is this?!" Macfield exclaimed as the increasing gales had started lifting off more weighted objects.

"Damnit, I don't need this! Just stop already!" Aniki yelled to the room before leaping into the mass of miscellaneous flying items. "Dears, some assistance please!"

Said 'dears' materialised in a mass of vines and tendrils of various lengths and widths. The larger ones were strong enough to go against the wind and attempt to grab at the flying letter while the thinner leafier one were swept into the maelstrom. Meanwhile Aniki made leaps and bounds over objects caught in the cycle, jumping from desk to bed to leveraging himself over the airborne air mattress to join in the mad pursuit of letter.

Control was far from present as some vines were whipped in Sho and Macfield's direction, mere bystanders to the chase unfolding before them. It was only due to their lack of length that the flailing limbs hadn't knocked either of them unconscious yet.

"Hey! Watch where you're aiming those things!" Macfield exclaimed as he pulled Sho down to the ground to avoid a particularly large vine flying in their direction. His cries went unheard by Aniki and his vines. If anything, it served as encouragement as the tendrils made wider more exaggerated movements that only missed the two of them by a hairsbreadth.

The yellow seemed to have had enough near misses and growled, "This has gone too far!" before somersaulting with acrobatic grace into the madness of the chase.

Sho regretted ever setting foot in the dorm. It was pure and utter chaos before him. Macfield was locked in what appeared to be an interpretative aerobatic dance with Aniki over small and not so small pieces of furniture while Aniki remained locked on the breezing form of Yuki-san's letter with the vines and tendrils flailing madly with a sole purpose of making this an even larger mess. He couldn't leave the door was on the other side of the room and he wasn't quite confident jumping out the window.

Standing rooted in his current position was apparently not the best course of action either. Another wayward vine came swinging in his direction and Sho, lacking in Macfield's reflexes, was swept off his feet and, due to the increased strength of the mysterious winds, was sent flying off into the twist.

"WHAAH!"

"Marufuji-kun?!" Macfield exclaimed. His split second loss of focus was enough for him to lose his footing as well and fall to the will of the gale.

Aniki seemed oblivious to the fate that had befallen his roommate and Sho, with the letter just barely out of his grasp. However, that was the moment the smaller red was blown into him, throwing off his balance and sending both of them hurling into Macfield. The three of them were now as weightless, and helpless, as paper, victims to the ever growing storm.

"Aniki! Do something!" Sho cried, gripping tighter to the boy behind him less the winds change and separate them.

"Like what?!" was Aniki's harsh response.

"Just tell whatever spirit that's causing this to stop!" came Macfield's indigent shrill.

"The spirit causing this is one of her's not mine!" Aniki yelled. "I have no control over tha-Oh so you want to help now?!" he broke off. "What- you can't...but how? Grr - then, I won't- don't think that...fine! We'll do it your way!"

Somehow, Aniki manage to get to his deck without his cards being blown out of his hands.

"Quick-play spell, Transcendent Wings!" he declared as the card glowed a bright light. The shadow of giant white wings filled the room. "Winged Kuriboh, your target is her dragon!"

With a cry of "Kuri!" the wings flapped, subsiding the winds with a flurry of white feathers and red rose petals. The three boys were dumped unceremoniously onto the ground amidst the wreckage that had once been a decently neat dorm room.

Aniki was the first to orient himself and scrambled to his feet.

"Where's the letter?" he called.

There was a guilty burp as a black sludge was wretched onto the floor by a not-so-empty plant-inhabited-pot. Aniki bent down to pick up the remains of the letter, only to immediately drop it with a hiss.

"Sorry, Yuri-chan." came a soft feminine voice.

"It's not your fault, dear." Aniki said soothingly. However, when he turned to face them, he looked downright murderous. "Droserea."

And a vine wrapped around Sho and Macfield's legs, and they were defenestrated.

{~~~}

"You should consider yourself lucky." Tenjoin-sensei said.

Ayukawa-sensei had just finished her check up of the both of them. Considering that they were thrown from a two-storey window to the hard unforgiving earth, Sho would have expected more injuries than a sprained ankle and a mild concussion. Then again, Macfield had taken the brunt of the impact.

They were in the medical bay of the main Academia building. Tenjoin-sensei had found them almost immediately with several other staff members prepared with stretchers and a first aid kit. It was as if she had been expecting them to be tossed out of that window.

Macfield shrugged, surprisingly calm and cheerful despite being covered head to toe in bandages. "It's Yuri. Bodily harm is pretty much a given when interacting with him."

"But you shouldn't have to even consider it." Tenjoin-sensei bowed her head in guilt. "It's my fault for forcing him to be your roommate. I thought Judai's old partner would be enough to keep him in check."

"Well the worst he can do is command a bunch of vines and they didn't even leave that much of a bruise." Macfield waved his bandaged leg to illustrate his point. "And besides, Burstinatrix-san doesn't seem like the type to let him get away with mass murder."

"Yes, but-"

"Though if you do want to make up for it, a bit of information on him would be nice." A sly grin spread wide across his face along with an overly devious look.

The teacher chuckled slightly. "You drive a hard bargain, Macfield-kun. Alright, I'll tell you a bit about Yuri-kun."

Sho straightened himself in his cot. This was exactly why he sought out Macfield in the first place.

"Yuri is the nephew of one of my former classmates, Judai Yuki." Tenjoin-sensei explained. "Technically, their first cousins once removed but that's a minor detail that no one ever brings up."

"So by Judai Yuki you mean Yuudai the Great Hero?" Macfield said with wide-eye disbelief. "I can't say I know the guy but I've seen him duel. He's the closest thing you can get to an Entertainment Duelist without stepping on an Action Field. Sure Yuri plays a HERO deck and he does use some summoning chants but I find it hard to believe that they're related."

Sho, however, didn't find it that jarring. Sure, personality wise, Aniki was the farthest thing from Yuki-san but there were subtle cues that were all too familiar. Aniki would sometimes talk to thin air like Yuki-san would and he always looked kinder when doing so. He also had recognised some of his combos, though Yuki-san had only used them when he was at his most ruthless which he rarely was.

"Yuri-kun...he wasn't always like this. Yes, he's always been a bit hostile but he'd never command the spirits to harm anyone. Judai noticed his strong connection with duel spirits at a young age and had taught him how to interact with them and to treat them with respect. For a long time we thought he'd grow up into a more serious version of his uncle."

Duel spirits, Sho had always been doubtful of their existence. Though now, after several close encounters with Aniki's plants he was more certain they existed, he had always thought in the past that Yuki-san, no matter how brilliant he was, had been a few cards short of a deck.

"Something happened, right?" Macfield interjected.

Tenjoin-sensei nodded. "It was an unfortunate string of events. His father disappeared, the duel school his family managed fell into disarray, one of his brothers was severely injured during a duel and another never came home one night...Yuri-kun's the eldest of his siblings. We think that the pressure and responsibility from stepping up to his father's place overwhelmed him so much that he just - gave in to the bitterness." She bowed her head. "At one point, he considered us, me, Judai and our other friends, to be part of his extended family yet…. we did nothing to help them in their time of need. We might have even made the situation worse."

"It can't have been that bad." Macfield said, in hopes to comfort. "Things happen. You can't blame yourself for something that was out of your control."

Tenjoin-sensei sat up and steeled herself. "Macfield-kun, a duelist's deck is their heart and soul and I keep Yuri-kun's divided and under lock and key. There are so many things about Yuri-kun,about his family's situation, that I have no right to disclose."

"What does that have to do with anything?" Macfield questioned, matching her steel with his own.

Then there was a knock at the door.

Tenjoin-sensei smiled, one that said 'We'll continue this later.' "Come in." She called.

The door slid open and there was a familiar small figure in a red blazer and an oversized cap.

"Saotome-kun?" Sho said.

"Um...pardon me Tenjoin-sensei," his roommate said meekly. "but Daitokuji-sensei said that Sho-kun got sent to the medical bay and-" his eyes fell on Macfield and he gasped. "You're Dennis Macfield!"

"That's my name." Macfield said with a charming smile though he seemed slightly taken aback by Saotome's starstruck attitude.

Sho muffled a groan into his hands. He knew that tone all too well, him having used it when they first introduced themselves. Saotome was a complete and utter otaku when it came to anything to do with the competitive field, both TCG and OCG, able to recognise pro duelists by name, deck and even combos better than Sho could ever hope even when a good portion of the duel community had been his babysitter at one point or another.

"I just loved your exhibition match against Jack Atlas three years ago!" Saotome gushed. "You were the sole reason that Pepe dominated the meta for the next couple formats. I don't think anyone would have else would have come up with a deck like that or even made it look that entertaining! It's no fair that you were just part of the opening ceremony. You should have been part of the Friendship Cup line up, and you would have won too! It's unfair how Atlas got to stay on his runner while you just had to leap around the Action Field. It had to be rigged! That last action card should have been yours and-"

"Saotome-kun, I think you may be a little overwhelming for Macfield-kun at the moment." Tenjoin-sensei cut in gently. "He needs time to recover from his injuries."

Saotome sobered slightly. "What happened to him? What happened to the both of you?"

"Oh, it was nothing!" Macfield said with a slight laugh. "Just a little scuffle with my roommate that got a little out of hand. The wind today was just plain ridiculous, I really shouldn't have left that window open. Though, I'm surprised that I'd have any fans at all. That duel was barely a debut."

"But you put the 'Entertainment' back into entertainment dueling! You're exactly what the OCG needs to kick off a proper Action Circuit. The show must go on!" Saotome finished with a grand flourish of arms that made Macfield go red.

"So what bring you here, Saotome-kun?" Tenjoin-sensei said before the boy could run off on another rant.

"Oh, here. Notes for Sho-kun." Saotome said pulling an unholy amount of paper from his book bag. "Daitokuji-sensei said that they were critical for the promotional exams in next month."

Sho blanched at all the papers. "That's everything on the test?"

"Nope." Saotome said a little too cheerfully. "There's still another five study points and there's rumours going around that there will be ten page evaluation question at the end that will make up a third of your theoretical mark."

"Eeesh, chain links and activation timing?" Macfield said, leafing through the first section of notes. "You aren't supposed to go into this stuff until the start of second year, or at least for the old study design. By the looks of this, you might even have to do a case study on the intended effects Link Summoning was supposed to have on the meta and an analysis why it poorly received by the community."

"I'm never going to get out of red!" Sho cried. Maybe Aniki should have finished them off. Death seemed a whole lot merciful than exam period.

"Don't worry Marufuji-kun." Macfield said reassuringly. "At least you don't need to worry about subject scaling and rankings too much yet."

Sho only graced him with the response of muffled screaming.

{~~~}

Sho was released to from the medical bay a little more than a week later and was severely behind in all of his subjects. All his teachers, with the exception of Daitokuji-sensei and Tenjoin-sensei, gave him no leeway for his absence. Since 'Symbolism and alternate Properties of Duel Monsters' was an elective and not a core subject, thus not being part of the promotional exams, Daitokuji-sensei was willing to postpone not only his but the entire class's exam by a week. Tenjoin-sensei was also willing to give him time to catch up on other subjects in 'Pastoral Care' instead of having him participate in the group activities.

But still, it was likely he was going to be stuck in a red blazer for the rest of the year.

Sho entered his dorm room downtrodden, making sure to avoid the gaze of poster Nii-san as he climbed onto his bed. Even if it was only a picture, Sho felt that anything it could see his brother could too. And it was always judging him. The same steeled eyes, those pursed lips that were only moments away from falling into a disapproving frown…

His eyes wandered to the poster by the door, between the one of Neo Domino's Shooting Star and the original King of Games. It was one of Jack Atlas on his D-Wheel standing before the towering figures of two magicians, one orange and the other white. Sho had originally thought that it had been a pair of twins but now he could see that it was Macfield and his ace monster, Performage Trapeze Magician. To think, that there was a (sort-of) celebrity attending only a year above him. A duelist who went up against a Pro League champion, albeit in an exhibition match but still, and managed to make such an impression to reckon the admiration of his peers. And he had been a red too!

That should have been enough to be inspiring but could he really do it? Could Sho rise through the ranks and become a duelist that would make his brother proud?

His thoughts drifted back to Aniki. The other red treated him with disgust and scorn, reminiscent of the tauntings of an Obelisk Blue, but there was something that was more grounding about him. Even though Macfield had treated him with kindness, treated him like an equal, there was something alienating about him. It didn't stem from his apparent ten minutes of fame but a nagging feeling at the back of Sho's head from the moment Macfield opened the door. That Macfield was supposed be someone else. More studious, maybe, with walls covered in equations rather than posters. It was the same nagging feeling that made him see Aniki as Aniki, made it feel wrong to think of him as 'Yuri', made it so easy to overlap him with Yuki-san. If only he were born fifteen years earlier, maybe, just maybe…

"Heyas, Sho-kun!" Saotome said, popping his head into the bunk.

Sho squeaked and, since he was lying so close to the edge of his bed, fell out of the bunk and onto the floor.

"Ow…"

"Whoops! Sorry Sho-kun!" Saotome said while climbing down the ladder of the bunk bed.

"No, no. It's okay." Sho said, sitting up to rub his head.

"And what are you doing in bed already?" Saotome asked. "Shouldn't you be studying? You've got a hell-lot to catch up on."

Sho's head, and mood, fell at the mention of exams. "I've given up. None of the teachers, except Daitokuji-sensei and Tenjoin-sensei, care about one pathetic Osiris Red. There's no way I'll be able to pass these exams. It'll be better just to wait for the next set to come about."

"But that will be at the end of the year!" Saotome exclaimed. He pulled him up to his feet and turned him to the poster of his brother and Yuki-san locked in combat. "What would they think if they saw you like this?"

"They'd be disappointed."

"So what are you going to do about it?"

"Crawl under a rock and die!"

Saotome gave him a solid whack on the head with a mini mallet. "No! You prove them wrong! You rise to the occasion and dominate that exam! Judai Yuki can turn a duel around no matter how far he's been backed into the corner. Ryo Marufuji, the Hell Kaiser and your brother, has never lost regardless if he's facing Lightsworns or Dinosaurs or freaking Zoodiacs! If they can do all that, one exam should be nothing to you."

"But they're them! And I'm me…" Sho said, deflating further. "I run Vehicleroids, for crying out loud, an outdated archetype with a worthless legacy. What hope do I have?"

"Then make another deck, like Cyber Dragons or HEROes. You know how those decks work, right?"

"But if I mess up, it'll reflect badly on them! What will people think of Nii-san or Yuki-san if I made a stupid misplay using their decks? I don't even…" Sho trailed off. 'I don't even have the right to play Power Bond.'

Saotome threw his hands up in exasperation. "How is it that you can be taught the game by some of the greatest duelists in the OCG yet have barely enough self-esteem to fill a teaspoon! You should be inspired not discouraged."

"But they're the people who raised me, the last thing I want to do is disappoint them."

Saotome's face crumpled, looking as if he was going to have another frustrated outburst, when suddenly he lit up. "What you need is an idol."

"A what?"

"An idol!" Saotome said, with a slight spin in his step. "You need someone who you both admire and find inspiring. While I admire all the professional duelists worldwide, there's only one that has inspired me." He slapped his hand on one of the posters.

"Macfield-san?" Sho would have expected Saotome's idol to be someone more already in the Pro League, not one of their seniors.

Saotome nodded. "Don't get me wrong, Kaiser-sama and Yudai-sama are the best on the competitive field but it's Dennis-sama that I idolize. Believe it or not, it was his exhibition duel with Jack Atlas that got me to consider going into Duel Monsters competitively." His eyes grew distant yet bright, probably flashing back to that time. "While I did know the game, I was only a casual player at the time and didn't think much of it...until I went to the Friendship Cup three years ago. I thought the idea of Solid Vision was stupid, like why waste money making holograms of cards when it could be used for better things? And on motorcycles too? That was taking it to a new level of crazy. But then, when the duel started, everything went dark and someone fell from the rafters. Everyone gasped, someone started screaming and we all thought something had gone wrong when suddenly the guy was scooped up by a flying white figure and coloured lights and holographic lights exploded onto the field. Dennis-sama and his ace Trapeze Magician were in the middle of the stadium pulling all sorts of acrobatic tricks while summoning more and more monsters from his deck. I don't remember being so hyped for anything in my life and the duel hadn't even started yet!"

"And the point of all of this was?" Sho asked, a little too used to Saotome's rants.

"The point is that was what inspired me to try and taking dueling on professionally. If not, I'd probably be married off to someone my stupid grandpa accidentally engaged me to. There has to be one person at least that inspires you to duel. Someone that you want to face one day as an equal and not just as a fan."

Sho thought about that for a moment. Saotome had a good point there but who was it that inspired him? His brother, Yuki-san and any of the other Pro League duelists that he knew of were to personal and tangible to idolise while Macfield just seemed to surreal. But then there was Aniki…

A sudden beeping brought him out of his thoughts. It came from Saotome-san's duel disk.

"It's already that time?!" Saotome exclaimed, dashing around the room, pulling out a camera from his drawer.

"Wait, time for what?"

"Dennis-sama will be dueling Arena Three!" he gushed.

"But isn't Arena Three for examination duels?" Sho said. "You're not allowed in there when a duel is going on unless you got permission from a teacher."

"I am not going to pass up a moment to get pictures of Dennis-sama dueling!"

"Uh...I'm pretty sure Macfield-san wouldn't mind if you just asked him…"

"Sho-kun." Saotome said seriously, slapping both hands onto his shoulders. "Rule number one about having an idol: never approach them directly unless you meet them by accident or if they approach you first. This is to capture them in their natural state. Ok, bye!" And then he was gone.

Sho couldn't help but sweat-drop. "Isn't that also called stalking?"

{~~~}

"What do you want, pervert?"

Sho shrunk under the glare of the Obelisk Blue. Apparently she had yet to forgive what happened the last time they met. 'Rule number one' be damned, he should have taken his chances with talking to Aniki directly or maybe find Macfield again, he would definitely be nicer, but that would mean having to deal with Saotome while he's in full blast 'otaku mode'.

"Well?"  
"Um...you see, I was wondering if you knew anything about Aniki - I mean, Yuri uh -" What was her name again? "Tsuki-san?"

"My name is Selena!" the blue growled. "Not 'tsuki' or 'moon' or anything like that!"  
"Eeek! Sorry Selena-san!" Sho said quickly so not to offend her further. He really should have gone to Macfield.

Selena sighed. "At least you're more polite than that bastard. But I've got as much a clue of who he is as you do. Tenjoin-sensei seemed pretty familiar with him, she's your best bet."

"Oh…" Sho said, deflating. "Okay then, thanks anyway…" and after all the trouble he went through to try and get her attention. He hoped that he would never use a pencil holder, Mokey Mokey plush and a toothbrush like that ever again. Maybe he should try his luck with Macfield or Tenjoin-sensei again.

As Sho wandered off, the blue called after him, "Oi, uh-kid!"

"Yeah?"

"Isn't the Osiris Dorms the other way?" Selena asked.

"Yeah…" Sho said. "But curfew isn't in for another couple hours so-"

"Unless it's urgent, you should start heading back." Selena interrupted. "Not that I'm scared or anything but with all those rumours, it's better to be safe than sorry."

"Umm...what rumours?"

"You seriously haven't heard?" she deadpanned, crossing her arms. "It's been running in the gossip mill for nearly a week. Even I know about it and I generally keep my nose out of these things."

"I've been in the medical bay for the past week." Sho said nervously. What had else had he missed besides schoolwork?

The blue sighed again. "Well, that can't be helped." Selena said. "The thing is, there's someone attacking the student population."

"Wait, what?!" Okay, how had he missed something as big as this!?

"At first it was just some Obelisk Blue seniors so not many people cared. Those guys were known assholes so they either were making everything up or just got what was going for them.

But recently…" She drew closer, looking almost nervous. "More people have been found injured around campus, duel disks active and out of lifepoints but any trace of a duel absent from their duel log. Obelisk Blue, Ra Yellow, Osiris Red and even some teachers. Some say it's the work of the Black Rose Witch but there's been no proof."

"Th-the Black Rose Witch?!" Everyone knew of the Black Rose Witch, a real life boogey story passed from seniors to their juniors. No one knew who exactly she (or possibly he) was, the teachers made sure to keep that knowledge a secret, but the entire island had been scarred by her presence. Scorch marks in some of the duel arenas, shaken figures waddling out of the medical bay and the roses that invaded the surrounding woodlands. If a rose can be seen then it was time to turn back because that marked the territory of the Black Rose Witch, a vengful spirit or a rogue student or possibly something else altogether.

"And there's a good chance she might be targeting us." Selena added in a near whisper. "I know my knots, you should have fallen unless someone had cut the rope, and someone had. Black thorns and red petals. You, me and even that bastard Yuri…"

"I'll head back." Sho said, thoroughly shaken by the information.

"Good."

And with that they parted ways.

When Sho got back to his dorm room, he dove straight under his covers, not even bothering to turn off the lights. Even though he was in the safety of the dorms, his body couldn't stop shaking.

Sho could still remember falling into Aniki's boat and then into the lake. The sudden drop from being suspended in thin air to falling into the cold water. Scrambling for breath and every move in hopes to buoyant himself only seemed to drag him deeper into the depths. And to think that was all caused by the dreaded Black Rose Witch…

His anxiety must have rocked him into an uneasy sleep because by the time Sho had peeked through his covers, the sun had already set.

It was too dark. Sho should have at least turned on a lamp or plugged in Saotome's nightlight (though for some reason Saotome claimed it was his). An inky black void surrounded him with a heavy silence that blanketed the entire room. The slightest ruffle of his sheets was near deafening only to then be replaced by intimidating silence, as if slumbering behemoth lurked in the confines of his room.

"Sa-Saotome-kun?" Sho called quietly.

No response.

"Saotome-kun?" he said a little louder.

Still nothing.

That was strange and every bit concerning. Saotome was a ridiculously light sleeper, though he never minded if Sho woke him up in the middle of the night (as long as he was allowed to rant about the Pro League until they both fell back asleep).

Climbing out of his bed and onto the ladder, he slowly scrambled up to Saotome's bunk at the top. Sho turned on his duel disk and shone the dim light over the bed. And it was completely empty.

Sho gripped the ladder tighter, lest he fall off. Saotome should have been back by now. What happened to him? He climbed down the ladder and landed on the floor with a light thump, taking several deep breaths to calm himself.

Saotome had broken curfew before, multiple time actually, and had never been caught. Maybe he lost track of time and was on his way back now.

But the Black Rose Witch was active and lurking.

What if Saotome got caught?

But then Sho remembered that he could simply call Saotome and check if he was alright.

He nearly face palmed at his stupid oversight and began scrolling through his contacts on his duel disk until he reached Saotome's.

One ring.

Two rings.

Three ri-

"Moshi moshi?"

Sho sighed in relief. "Hey Saotome-kun. Where are you now? It's already past curfew."

"Meh, I've still got another hour before the teachers start making rounds." Came his digitalised voice. "I'm at the Ra Yellow Dorms."

Sho's heart immediately fell to his stomach. "Eh?! Why?"

"To sneak into Dennis-sama's room of course!"

Sho didn't even bother question how illogical and stalkerish that was. But… "What about the rumours of the Black Rose Witch?"

"You actually believe that?" Saotome scoffed. "That's just some baloney made up by the blue seniors. There's no solid proof of the attack or the Black Ro-AAAAAAAAHHHH!"

"Saotome-kun? What was that? Saotome-kun?!"

The call ended.

Sho offered no time to thought and immediately balled out of his room. Consequences be damned, the Black Rose Witch had gotten to Saotome!

He blindly raced in the direction of the Ra Yellow Dorms. There was no time to waste.

Then someone grabbed him by the shoulder.

Sho nearly shrieked before he saw who it was. "Macfield-san?"

"Marufuji-kun." Macfield said, face covered in stoic seriousness. "Have you seen Yuri?"

"No, I haven't seen Aniki since the window-thing." Sho said, his terror cultivating. "W-why?"

Macfield raised his hand. He was holding a battered copy of Elemental HERO Burstinatrix...and a black thorned red rose.

Sho opened his mouth to respond when a white shriek pierced the night.

"AAAAAAAAAHHHHHHEEEEEEEEEEEEE!"

"Saotome-kun!"


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 3: The Empress (reversed)

 _Hey Cabbage Patch!_

 _One month at the Academia already, right? Anything particularly interesting happen yet? I remember my first month, dealing with a teacher candidate taking the cards of those he defeated. A Ryuga-something, probably one of your current teachers. Nearly loss to the guy to cause my duel disk wasn't recognising any of my spell cards. Here's a word of advice, don't ever use your duel disk as a frisbee!_

 _Anyway I'm writing this from Norway, you know where my friend Johan lives. Yeah, didn't stay long in Domino but duty calls but I should be back there in a couple of weeks (The Crystal Beasts say hi by the way.) Did you know that he has a nephew that attends North Academia? His name's Jesse and he uses an insect deck. Pretty lively kid actually, loves going bug hunting (and possibly has an attention span shorter than your brother). He can see spirits too actually, or Johan thinks he can. The spirits in his deck aren't all that active and he doesn't really believe they exist...Johan's been thinking of giving him the Crystal Beasts, maybe that would help him develop some good strong bonds. Maybe if the both of you get selected for North-Central Open Week Exhibition, there'll be a good old HERO vs Crystal Beasts match. Is the old gang looking forward to that? The Crystal Beasts sure are. Amethyst here is rearing for a rematch against Burstinatrix._

 _Speaking of the old gang, how have they been? I know the current build isn't all that meta or consistent without splashing in xyz (which I know you won't do after the whole Skyblaster Incident) but I hope you've been taking care of each other. I know you probably think that Winged Kuriboh is a 'jailer' or something but they're all there to help you out. Burstinatrix, Avian, Bubbleman, Sparkman… they're all there for the same thing. There's more to dueling than just winning and I think you need to remember that. That's why you're at the Academia after all._

 _Speaking of the Academia, Asuka's been pretty worried about you. She says that you haven't been attending any of your classes, getting other students in trouble, causing mass property damage, blah blah blah yada yada yada - you probably already knew all of this and you probably don't care either. Hell, the moment you read this you'll probably burn the letter or something. I'm kind of a hypocrite for saying this but you need to listen to your teachers. Go to your classes, do your work._

 _You're a smart kid, Yuri, smarter than I ever was at your age. Probably even smarter than I am now. Don't let that all go to waste. I know that these are tough times and I haven't been giving you the proper support that you need but this time in the Academia is an opportunity you can't waste. It's going to be confusing and as familiar as the old gang is they aren't_ your _deck but I know you can power through this. We don't call you Ichiban for nothing._

 _Also, you've probably heard this a million times and again a million more, make some friends! Yeah we've got a pretty big extended family but friends are different. They're the people that you choose. They're_ yours _if you want to put it that way. I know you think that you can make it on your own but even the tallest building can't stand without good support. Kaiser's little brother is in your year level and one of the seniors I've been working with, Izayoi Aki, looks like someone you'd get along with. Asuka's also told me about your roommate Dennis Macfield and that duel on the lake with that Selena girl...there are people around you that would make amazing friends. You just need to reach out. It will definitely be worth it. Trust me on this one. As supportive your mom and uncle have been to me over the years, I found myself relying more on the friends I made for myself rather than the cousins that I grew up with. As the old saying goes with the blood and water and all that._

 _Good luck with your promotion exams and don't forget to keep in contact with your mom and brothers._

 _Gotcha!_

 _Hero-jichan_

 _P.S. Yubel also wrote you a letter but she said it was confidential or something like that. She said you'll know what to do._

{~~~}

Chronos-sensei wasn't a particularly bad teacher. He knew the study design well, after teaching it for nearly thirty years and so on. He was also one of the least prejudiced teachers. Despite being the head of the Obelisk Blue, he treated them no different from a yellow or even a red. Some say this was due to an Osiris Red outwitting him several times. That he had once petitioned for the entire dorm to be expelled several times and would have been successful without student intervention. Some say that the red was the freelance duelist _Yuudai,_ who proudly wore the old red uniform to most of his matches.

Overall he was a decent teacher, better than decent really. But the main problem was-

"...and then I challenged the latecomer. To think that he had the nerve to turn up late to his _entrance exam_ of all things-"

Some students, to feign attention, nodded in agreement. Most however had already nodded off to sleep.

Aki had long since learned to tune out Chronos-sensei's ramblings, focusing on the questions from her textbook. He was a pretty good teacher, when he was actually discussing the content. Most the time, he would go on and on _and on_ about his early years of teaching, barely ever touching the tested information unless it somehow came up in one of his stories. Today was supposed to be a reintroduction of summoning disruption and what effects can be activated as a counter, which was unlikely to appear in the story about the late student applicant. It didn't help that Chronos-sensei was a ridiculously hard marker, a way to 'encourage' the class to be study was the only way to pass this subject.

"...when an effect is chained to the summon of a monster or monsters, the monster is not yet considered to be summoned." Aki muttered quietly. "The effect is chaining directly to the summon with…"

There was a harsh bump from the back of her chair, knocking her forward over the desk. She turned and glared at the offender. An Obelisk Blue, of course.

"Oi Izayoi, some of us are trying to actually _listen_ to the teacher." the blue sneered.

A complete and utter lie. Aki had heard the guy snoring obnoxiously several minutes ago.

"Yeah, _Izayoi_." One of her seatmates, another blue, added. "This is important stuff sensei is talking about."

Yes, like they _need_ to hear this story again for the upteenth time. She tried to keep her cool but her control was already starting to slip. Vines were coiling defensively up her legs and she could feel them reaching out for the surrounding chair legs. She was better than this. She wasn't going to give in to the taunting.

"Oh? Getting a little annoyed Izayoi?" her other seatmate, a Ra Yellow this time, said. All three of her tormentors began leaning in.

"Want to run off into the woods to your pretty little garden?"

"Heard that you've been terrorising the younger students. Can't deal with duelists in your year level?"

"Maybe you should just drop out, you sla-"

"Izayoi! Koda! Sato! Tanaka!"

The four of them straightened at the teacher's call. The whole room rose to attention, their eyes all on the four of them.

"Anything that you would like to share with the class?" Chronos-sensei asked.

"Just kindly asking Izayoi _-san_ to keep her voice down." Koda said, leaning forward from above her.

Aki's cheeks began to heat up as the entire class began to snicker. The vines had yet to disappear and had started creeping behind her. If only this wasn't in the middle of the class, then maybe she could - no, she had better control than that. Just ignore it.

"I'm quite surprised that you could hear anything besides your own snores, _Singore_ Koda."

Aki couldn't help but smile as Koda immediately quietened while her seatmates began to back away. Some chuckled at the blue's expense. She felt relieved that the attention was off her, the vines retreating back into nothingness.

"And _Singorina_ Izayoi."

"Yes sensei?"

" _Professoressa_ Tenjoin has requested that you see her after class."

Aki nodded, trying to keep her face blank as Koda kicked the back of her chair.

" _Special_ little dropout." Koda smirked.

Aki paid him no attention. If a little vine just happened to sweep under his chair and knock him off balance...no. Endure it. There had been worse.

"Now where was I? Ah yes. To teach that latecomer a lesson, I decided to use my own personal deck instead of the examiner's…"

{~~~}

Tenjoin-sensei's office was one of the brightly lit rooms in the Academia. No matter what time of day, sunlight always shone through the large window to bathe the room in a natural light. At night, candles would illuminate the room with a gentle, almost romantic, glow. Some students would joke that was when Tenjoin-sensei would have 'special visitors' though evidence showed that this was just the teacher working a little overtime.

Decorating the room, hanging from transparent lines attached to the ceiling, were windchimes. Some were long and metal while others were short and wooden and there were even a few made of glass. They were all painted orange or blue or purple. Effect and Ritual and Fusion, the types of monsters that she used or she just really like those colours. Like how her office was always bright, there was always a chorus of chimes even if the window was closed.

Aki always found the sound calming. The many chimes created an ornate yet whimsical song, never clashing even when more and more were added. The light tune reminded her home, when her parents would play baroque music after dinner and stoke the old fireplace in lounge.

"So how have you been Izayoi-kun?" Tenjoin-sensei asked.

"Fine." Aki said.

"Any troubles with your classes?" Tenjoin-sensei continued to push. "Exams? Teachers? Classmates?"

"No. Everything has been _fine_."

Aki's files, from first year to now, were spread across her desk. Tenjoin-sensei, as well as being a 'Pastoral Care' teacher and one of the main teachers of the Ritual course, was also the Academia's guidance counselor. And Aki, since the moment she had been enrolled, was flagged as a student in need of explicit 'guidance'.

Tenjoin-sensei was as good a person as she was a teacher. She had been a constant support to Aki since she entered the Academia. It had made her consider taking the Ritual course over the Synchro course when choosing her pathways. Now though, Tenjoin-sensei was becoming too overbearing. After three years, these meetings had become more annoying and repetitive.

"The promotion exams are approaching." Tenjoin-sensei said. "I think that you might be able to move up a dorm this year. Wouldn't that be nice?"

"It's just going to be on theory." Aki stated. That was how it had been since her first year. Slightly condescending, maybe, but at least no one would get hurt. She didn't care that much about rankings anyway.

"Actually, there's a practical component this year."

Aki froze. _No._ "Like duel puzzles?"

"A fully three round match against one of your peers." Tenjoin-sensei said it with a kind reassuring smile. That only set Aki's nerves further on edge. "I've talked with Yuki-san about it and-"

"No." Aki said firmly, rising from her seat. "You _know_ what will happen. I- I can't…"

Tenjoin-sensei remained seated but pity, _pity,_ was painted across her face. "You'll be able to handle it Izayoi-kun. I've seen you grow over the past three years and your self-control is amazing."

"If by amazing you mean amazingly _pathetic."_ Aki scoffed. Her rage was slowly building, but not now. _Not now._ "It's not going to work. Just do it the same as always. I don't care if I'll still be in Osiris Red."

"Even if you're the only one in the dorm?" Tenjoin-sensei said sternly. "Your year level is an anomaly. Never before in the history of Duel Academia has a dorm been so under represented. I don't want you to be further ostracized by your peers. If you move up to Ra Yellow at least-"

"The reason they all left was because of me!" Aki yelled, slamming her hands onto the desk.

A sudden wind blew through the room, clattering the chimes in a discord of clangs. Aki backed slightly, startled and disappointed in her sudden outburst. She took several deep breaths to compose herself.

 _Nearly, almost._

 _She was better than this._

 _And in front of a teacher._

 _In front of_ Tenjoin-sensei.

"I'm sorry." Aki said. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry. But please, just...just keep things as they are." She bowed her head, panting slightly. She needed to compose herself.

Aki felt herself pulled into a warm embrace. Tenjoin-sensei had one arm on her back and another gently patting her hair. This was to comfort her, to make her feel safe, but it just made her feel more inadequate. Aki thought she had been able to move past this. Tenjoin-sensei was her teacher, not someone she could imprint on as a surrogate mother.

"Izayoi-kun, _Aki-chan."_ Tenjoin-sensei said, pulling Aki from her chest. "You are an incredible duelist and a lovely person. You've grown so much since coming to the Academia. Be proud of yourself. There's nothing to fear, you will be able to handle it. You just need a little faith."

"But would anyone have any faith in me?"

A soft tune chimed through the room. There was no wind, the window was closed and there was no way that any form of Aki's powers would manifest in something that delicate. But the light tinkle from nowhere soothed her back into her seat.

"This is going to be a big leap for you." Tenjoin-sensei said, pulling out several forms. "While both myself and Yuki-san have given our vote of confident, there are still several other teachers that are reluctant to let you duel against your peers."

"Ayukawa-sensei and Kabayama-sensei?" Aki guessed. Being the school nurse and a head of dorm respectively they were probably concerned about their students well-being, and rightfully so.

Tenjoin-sensei nodded. "They were the most vocal. The others showed mostly neutral disapproval. Though…" She let out an exasperated sigh that Aki couldn't help but mimic.

"Sanders-sensei?"

"Sanders-sensei." Tenjoin-sensei began massaging her temples. "He seemed awfully insistent to have you duel against his latest pet project."

"Another duel monkey?" Aki asked.

"I hope so. Though he has been banned from working with animals since the S.A.L. incident, the alternatives it leaves aren't particularly…" Tenjoin-sensei paused then shook her head. "But that's nothing for you to worry about. Sanders-sensei is due for another audit anyway. You won't have to deal with anything from him that isn't legal. Anyway, back to your practical exam."

"Yeah, practical exam." Aki said. "Even if I do have one, I doubt that anyone in my year level would want to duel against me. They all...you know…" Tenjoin-sensei may have been able to stop anyone from publically announcing her powers but those in her year level and above, and even some staff, still spread rumours of a witch that roamed the island.

"Even under the threat of expulsion?" Tenjoin-sensei suggested.

"What? No! That would go against a duelist's honour!" Aki protested.

"And refusing to duel someone on the fear of losing isn't?"

"Refusing a duel to avoid bodily harm isn't." Aki corrected. "Tenjoin-sensei, no student in this school, especially in my year level, will duel me. Can't I just duel an examiner or a teacher or something?" Maybe an opponent she respected and who respected her in return was less likely to trigger her powers.

Tenjoin-sensei sighed, noting something down on one of her files. "That will have to do. But if there's anyone, and I mean _anyone,_ who you really want to duel, feel free to tell me and I'll try to organise something." _'With minimal collateral damage and injury'_ went unsaid but was a given.

"So that's all?" Aki said, standing from her chair.

Tenjoin-sensei nodded. "I'll send you the details regarding your exam within a week. Just remember, if you need anything, _anything_ at all, my door is always open."

A series of four chimes rang through the office, pretty yet sharp, before the door opened and a familiar figure of red and purple stood slouched in the doorway.

"Yuri-kun." Tenjoin-sensei said. "On time for once."

"Not on my own free will." the boy grumbled. He appeared to be digging the heels of his boots into the carpet but was pushed forward by a seemingly invisible force, mumbling to thin air. Or maybe not.

Duel spirits, Aki realised, remembering his last encounter with Yuri. The bouncing pot plants that revealed to contain duel monster and the intruder to her garden who calmed Black Rose. In the storm of school life, she had nearly forgotten about him. If he was here, so early into the school year, that meant that Yuri was…

"There's a lot that we need to talk about." Tenjoin-sensei said in a business-like tone."We've gone over this before but your class attendance-"

"We _have_ gone over this before," Yuri interjected. "and _I don't care."_

He circled around then swept past Aki, making his leave.

Tenjoin-sensei stood up to follow, her voice gradually rising. "Yuri-kun we need to talk- _Yuri Sa-"_

And then, storming into the room like invading soldiers, were a squad of 'empty' bouncing flower pots, creating a barrier between the boy and the teacher.

"What?" Aki said. She recognised the design on two of them, the Traptrix she had met in her garden, but accompanying them were another pair of pots.

The pots began aggressively bouncing up and down. If Aki wasn't 'blind and deaf', she would have heard the insults that the spirits were throwing at Tenjoin-sensei.

Yuri also appeared to be taken aback by the sudden appearance of the pot plants, however surprise morphed into wry amusement as a feline grin spread across his lips. The pots were becoming more frantic in their bouncing, cracks starting to appear in the floor, while the windchimes above tousled and turned, clanging in a ear piercing cacophony.

It was all so random and spontaneous, as if the moment the boy arrived unadulterated chaos followed in his wake.

Tenjoin-sensei looked to have a better understanding on the situation, remaining somewhat composed if not a little peeved as she tried to push her way through the barricade of pots.

"Yuri-kun, stop this." Tenjoin-sensei demanded.

Yuri gave an innocent shrug. "I'm not doing anything."

"This is _enough."_ Tenjoin-sensei said, raising her voice above the pots and chimes. " _All of you."_

Her words seemed to resonate with authority as something began to glow from beneath her shirt. Then, as if scolded, the noise quelled. The chimes silenced and the pots, while still jumping, were more subdued in their movements.

Yuri's face darkened into a scowl. "Of course that idiot would give you one of _those."_

Tenjoin-sensei approached him, cautiously as if he were a startled animal, like how many other teachers had approached Aki. "Yuri-kun _,_ I want to help-"

"Why _now?"_ Yuri said, his voice dropping to a cold quiet rage. "You, _none of you,_ gave a damn before. Why now when everything has _already gone to hell?"_

He left the teacher no time to respond, kicking open the window and leaping out. The pots, if possible, looked conflicted on whether or not to follow. Tenjoin-sensei, thoroughly exhausted, collapsed onto her chair with an arm over her eyes.

Aki, in comparison, remained standing and was completely confused. "Wha-"

"Everything." Tenjoin-sensei said, anticipating her question. "That was about everything. What I didn't do and what I did do."

{~~~}

With Yuri being long gone, his pots had taken to following Aki around. She wasn't sure how the boy had avoided drawing attention to himself with a line of plant pots at his heel but the last thing that she needed any more eyes on her. The pots had quietened to an extent, acting like normal inanimate objects unless she prodded them with her powers. She didn't know exactly how duel spirits functioned but it was definitely different to how her powers normally worked.

They were all like dealing with Black Rose Dragon. Pulling at whatever energy that she pushed onto them to a lesser extent. It was nothing like the wild flow of energy would manifest vines and winds just as much as they would monsters. There was something sentient on the receiving end.

 _There was something_ alive _on the other end._

It was a realisation that hit Aki like, for a lack of better comparison, a tonne of bricks. She had barely put any thought into it when the Traptrix pots came bouncing into her garden. Duel spirits received whatever she threw at them, accepting it with vigour and gratitude. She wasn't a monster or a complete danger to them. But that didn't mean that Aki was going to let them follow her around campus like bouncing clay ducklings.

Duel spirits were weightless and the pots themselves fairly light if not a bit bulking. Aki stacked the pots on top of each other, wondering if she should materialise the spirits in order to ask if they were comfortable. Finding a runaway student that she barely knew was definitely something that Aki couldn't do while carrying several pot plants so her first destination was her garden. The pot spirits should be fine there and, if ever, she could always summon Black Rose for extra protection. First, though, she would have to get to her garden and of course, she would get intercepted on the way.

With the pots stacked high and blocking most of her vision, anyone could easily knock her off balance, accidentally or purposely. The harsh bump was enough to make Aki stumble but she was able to regain her balance before dropping the pots.

"Oh _hello,_ Izayoi."

The apologies died in Aki's throat and twisted into a scowl. "Koda."

From between the pots she saw Koda with the same two cronies from before, Sato in blue and Tanaka in yellow. They were the type of people that basked in their superiority and took every chance to assert it. And Aki, friendless and at the bottom of the rankings, had been their favoured prey since their promotion to a higher dorm.

"How about showing a little respect, Izayoi." Koda said, leering over her. "Come on, call me _Koda-sama."_

Aki took in a deep breath, making an extra effort in preventing her powers from leaking. If what she had gathered about duel spirits, exposing them to negatively charged emotions would be a bad idea. She could already feel the pots wriggling in her grasp.

"I don't have time for this." Aki said neutrally.

She tried pushing past tormenting blue only to be blocked by Sato and Tanaka, trying their best to look intimidating.

"Where do you think you're going?" Koda said, closing in from behind. "Off to cast a curse with your witchy magic?"

It wasn't magic. She wasn't a witch. But her anger and frustration was quickly building, blocking out most of their taunts with raw emotion. Her powers were leaking to the duel spirits, making it harder for her to keep her grip on them.

To an outsider though, it looked as if she was shaking.

Koda gave a harsh laugh. "Well would you look at that, the little witch is trembling in fear."

The other two joined his laughter. Aki couldn't walk away with the three boys cornering her on all sides. The duel spirits were eager to jump to her defense. She was at the end of her patience, ready to show them what this 'witch' could really do-

"Aki-senpai!"

A ridiculously bright and cheery voice cut through the taunts and the rage. It sounded familiar but Aki couldn't place where she had heard it before. She turned to the direction of the voice to see Yuri running towards her, with an overly bouncy skip in his step.

"Thank you so much for taking care of these!" he said happily, taking the pots from her arms. "Yuri doesn't know what he would have done if he had lost these!"

With the pots no longer obscuring her vision, Aki nearly did a double take when she saw the boy. His old Osiris blazer was not over his shoulders as a makeshift cape but actually worn properly. The sleeves were too big, the shoulders too wide and the blazer ended just above his knees, making him look like a child playing dress-up.

"Yuri-kun?" Aki said cautiously.

His eyes grew dilated and glossy. "Aki-senpai still remember Yuri's name!" the boy cried, his voice several pitches higher than before. He fell into Aki in a half-hug, the pots squished between them.

"Play along." Yuri whispered, dropping back to his normal tone.

Tanaka, being the largest of the three, pulled the boy away. Whether it was a show of the yellow's strength or the red's lightness, Yuri was dangled from his oversized collar.

"What are you doing here, brat?" Koda demanded, clearly annoyed by the intervention.

Yuri turned those wide eyes on the blue, oblivious and unintimidated. "To find Aki-senpai, of course!" he chirped.

"Do you even know who she is?"

"Aki-senpai's really nice person and an amazing duelist!"

"How old is this kid? Ten?" Sato muttered.

Yuri turned to the other blue with an overly childish pout. "Yuri is four _and_ ten!"

This may have been all an act but Aki couldn't help but find this completely ridiculous.

"How in the world hasn't the witch burned this brat or something…"

Yuri wiggled out of the yellow's grasp to give the offending blue a swift kick in the shins. "Don't say mean things about Aki-senpai! Aki-senpai's no witch!"

Sato doubled over, clutching his shin and biting back curses. "Why you little _brat-"_

But Koda held Sato back before he could lurch at Yuri, a sneaking grin growing across his face.

"Yuri-kun, was it?" Koda said with faked sweetness. "Did you know that your Aki-senpai really is a witch? She's the Black Rose Witch of rumour, Yuri-kun, the one attacking all the students and making her monsters _real._ "

Aki glared at the blue, clenching her fists and holding back the oncoming rage. He shouldn't be talking about _that_ , he _couldn't_ be. Tenjoin-sensei had made sure. None of the students or teachers who already knew, who had started the rumours about the witch haunting the school too every new student since, were allowed to name names and point fingers. She was better than that now, far from perfect but better than when she had first come to the Academia.

Yuri, however, just tilted his head in confusion. "Rumours? Yuri's still new, like new-new. No one's told Yuri anything." He said, voice still in that squeaking tone. Then his eyes widened in realisation. "Oh, I know what you're talking about now!"

No. Here it comes. The fear. The rejection-

"Aki-senpai uses _Witch of the Black Rose!"_

The sheer cheerfulness and obliviousness nearly had all the four senior students stumbling over. The boy turned to Aki with a look full of adoration that it was hard to believe that he was still faking it. "That's such a good card! It combos really well with _Rose Fairy_ and lets you go straight for a Synchro Summon!" He then turned to Koda. "Cobra-senpai must know Aki-senpai's deck really really _really_ well! Is Cobra-senpai Aki-senpai's boyfriend?"

The question, asked so innocently, caused Koda to splutter.

Yuri took this moment of distraction to grab Aki with one hand, keeping the other secured around the pots. "Okay, time to go now! Yuri has to take Aki-senpai to see Tenjoin-sensei! Bye-bye!"

Then the boy dragged her away.

{~~~}

Where Yuri ended whisking her away to wasn't back to Tenjoin-sensei's office but to Aki's garden. Yuri released the pots to have them happily bounce around her roses while Aki took a moment to catch her breath.

"What was all that about?" Aki asked.

Yuri unbuttoned his blazer and attached it to his shoulders, turning to Aki with a sly smile. "Don't you mean 'thank you'?"

"'Thank you'?"

"You're welcome!" The boy said with a flourish of hands and a bow.

That only left Aki more confused. "For what?"

"For stopping you from blowing up the school." Yuri replied. "While I do commend you for such a wonderful projection of power, I could feel it from _miles_ away, maybe a little longer and the volcano would have erupted, it would be a wasted performance on a bunch of idiots like them." He crossed his arms then sighed. "I swear, what's with Obelisk Blues and groups of three? Chicken had two goons, Moon-darling had a pair and now Cobra- _senpai_ and his cronies."

The later comment went unheard to Aki, however. The realisation that she had nearly lost control, would have made a volcano _erupt_ if it weren't for Yuri's wacky intervention, caused her to crumple to her knees. If simple taunting could lead to _that,_ how much more so if she lost control during a duel?

There was a gentle tap on her shoulder. Aki looked up to see a potted venus flytrap, jaw opened to reveal a small black-haired girl in blue.

"Don't be sad, Aki-san." the Traptrix spirit, Dionaea if she remembered correctly, said. "You had lots of control when dealing with those mean bullies."

"Yeah, Aki-san!" the other one, the potted pitcher plant Nepenthes, added, bouncing over. "I doubt Yuri-chan would have been able to hold back for so long!"

"I'm hurt!" Yuri cried in mock pain, holding a hand to his heart and falling to the ground with a dramatic spin. "My own spirits, my dear darlings, think so lowly of me!"

"Yuri-chan!" Both plant spirits exclaimed, rushing to their duelist's side.

The boy tried to shoo them away with overly dramatic waves. "No! No! Leave me be! I have been abandoned, abandoned! Go to the roses and leave this cabbage to rot!"

Aki couldn't help giggle lightly at the act, her spirits lifting slightly. A gentler, more genuine, smile spread across Yuri's face as he sat back up, not bothering to dust off the grass and dirt from his clothes.

"One of the few useful things that he ever taught." Yuri said. "Constant smiles are simply improbable but sometimes...entertainment dueling does have some merit."

Aki smiled in return. "That reminds me of someone in second year. A red, maybe a yellow by now. His name was something Western-"

The two other plant spirits, who had been snapping at the insects buzzing around the garden, growled while Yuri buried his face in his hands with a groan.

"Please don't associate me with him."

"You know who I'm talking about?"

"My roommate sadly. Entertainment dueling is far from popular enough here for it to be anyone else." He straightened his posture and crossed his legs. "But enough about that fool and entertainment dueling. Do you have any preferences? A signature? A style? I think giant vines erupting from the earth would suit you well."

"Wait? What's all this about?" It was a quick diversion in the conversation, a roller coaster going from confusion to despair to laughter then back to confusion.

"Come to think of it...yes. Yes! But first...dears. We're heading back!"

The boy spun off in the direction of the Ra Yellow dorms with his duel spirits bouncing after him. Aki also found herself trailing behind him, once again whisked off after this destructive force of nature.

{~~~}

Aki didn't follow Yuri into the dorms, rather she stayed in the trees behind. She knew the fearful looks that were thrown her way. She wouldn't be welcomed.

From her perch she spied a redhead in yellow with a smaller cyan-haired boy in red. Macfield, most likely, and that boy she had dropped into the lake. They were talking about something but Aki was too far away to hear anything.

Why would he be there? Or better yet, why would Yuri be staying at the Ra Yellow Dorms when he obviously was in Osiris Red? Were those two conspiring against Yuri. Possibly, with his bouncing pots and old uniform he would be a prime target. And if he did have powers like she did…

Yuri's entrance appeared quiet and subtle but the other two immediately turned to him at that moment. The boy swept past to the pair and out of Aki's sight through the window. If the rooms were laid out like the female dorms, there should be a closet there.

The lake boy tried sneaking up behind Yuri but he had been quick to notice. He turned to confront the other, standing tall just within Aki's line of vision. Some words were exchange and whatever Yuri had said cause the cyan-haired red to look away. Was he calling the other out on his actions? Demanding that he would stop? That was more than what Aki had ever attempted, where she would bottle it up and let the resentment boil.

Macfield stepped between the two, towering over Yuri. Aki had always thought the second year was an honest duelist, out to make anyone and everyone smile in a duel regardless if it was a simple challenge or an examination. With her 'special consideration' when it came to exams, Aki had a lot of time to loiter around the school. Macfield in his red blazer and mop of ginger hair had been a common sight in the duel areas, in the centre of the crowd with arms and monsters rearing for battle. Entertainment dueling, or dueltainment as some called it, in a style reminiscent of that from the West.

To see Macfield now in yellow, just one step away from the top and ready to abuse his newfound status. To think that he was just another Koda in the making.

She could hear Black Rose growling from her deck. Yuri had intervene for her, it might as well return the favour in kind.

Aki released her powers, let the bottled anger and rage take hold. Black Rose's comforting shadow loomed over her as the dragon flapped her wings and released a gust of wind into the room.

From there her vision blurred, a glaring blast of white light streaked with dancing red patches. It had been too long since she had last let loose like this. The last time had marked her a monster in the eyes of her parents but this...this was more freeing yet tamer in comparison. Her arm still burned from that cursed mark but she was older now with a better understanding of her limits.

There was rage, yes, but also an urge to protect. Aki had found a kindred spirit in Yuri. Under any other circumstances, she might have dismissed him as an arrogant if not quirky underclassman but the power they shared...the cursed power that they were both marked with…

There wa no way she was going to let him experience the same pain that she did.

Then something appeared in the blur of white and red. Large feathered wings, like an angel's, and a golden headpiece engulf Aki and her dragon in a ethereal embrace. Black Rose thrashed and cried in protest but Aki felt a warm numbness spreading through her body, draining her energy and lulling her to a half sleep.

Black Rose gave a final anguished cry and dissipated. A sharp burning pain struck through Aki's body. The winged creature was gone and there was nothing left to support her.

Barely conscious, she fell.

{~~~}

Aki awoke in her garden, nestled in Black Rose's wings. Moonlight filtered through the branches, bathing the area with a soft glow.

Wait, moonlight?

She stumbled out of bed of soft scales, earning a whine of protest from her dragon. But what time was it? How long had she been out?

Looking down, Aki saw that her arm was still glowing, the lines of that cursed mark emitting a dull yet harsh light. It on longer burned but by still being present, it might as well be.

"To think that you would have one too."

She looked up to see Yuri leaning against a tree not too far away, paler and more exhausted than normal. His eyes were firmly fixed up at the moon.

"The wings, the tail, the foot, the claw, the head and the heart. The six marks of the Crimson Dragon." Yuri said. "My uncle heard the story on a business trip to Peru. The People of the Stars worshipped a deity called the Dragon Star, or the Crimson Dragon. When vengeful immortals of the netherworld attacked this plane, it bestowed six of its priests its mark and the service of its servants to bind the immortals to the earth. Signers, they were called."

Aki looked down at her arm, still glowing red with the mark. "So we were cursed by some ancient Aztec dragon god?"

"The People of the Stars were probably more closer to the Incans than the Aztecs." Yuri corrected with a slight shrug. Then he rolled up his sleeves revealing pale markless skin. "Besides, I'm not a signer."

"You're not?" Aki said. "But then how-"

"As I said, my uncle." Yuri interjected, standing to stretch. "The competent one not the idiot. He's an archaeologist or a historian or a grave robber or something like that. If it's old and cursed, he would probably know what it is and what higher being has been pissed off. And your darling dragon feels awfully similar to my cousin's, so old and one of a kind..."

Aki's eyes widened, turning to her dragon. Black Rose Dragon, her ace and partner, was the servant of dragon deity. The card had been with her for so long yet she had yet to see another. Yes, there was _Black Rose Moonlight Dragon_ as part of the _Duel Dragons_ archetype but never just _Black Rose Dragon._

Black Rose snarled at the boy but Yuri simply waved it off. "She was going to find out anyway. Better to hear it from someone who doesn't give a darn rather than someone intending to manipulate her." But he kept his distance, remaining at his tree.

"You can...understand her?"

"To an extent." Yuri said with a shrug. "Not all duel spirits are like Nepenthes-darling and Dionaea-dear. Most don't bother with human tongue, especially if they lack the required equipment. But enough about that. Pray I ask, if you don't mind, what all _that_ was about?" There was a slight irritation in his tone, maybe like her he didn't appreciate blatant acts of charity.

"Returning a favour in kind." Aki responded, rising to her feet and meeting him opposite the circle of pale light filtering through the trees. "Macfield is to you as Koda is to me."

The boy's eyes widened owlishly. "Eh...Macfield and...oh." Then Yuri muffled a chuckle. "You thought that _Macfield_ was bullying _me?"_

Aki nodded slightly and Yuri doubled down in laughter. It was pure and uncontrolled, childish even. Ringing through her garden like the chimes through Tenjoin-sensei's office.

She was lost on how to react. "I saw Macfield standing over you and that boy from the lake was there too. I thought they were plotting something…"

" _Macfield_ and _Marufuji._ The wannabe entertainer and Ryo-san's second-rate brother plotting against _me?"_ That sent Yuri into a new fit of laughter. "You started a full-blast cyclone because my roommate several inches taller than me?"

Normally Aki would have been offended at the comment or ashamed at the amount of damage she had cause over a small misconception but Yuri placing it so simply, treating the utter destruction of his dorm room as if it were nothing, she couldn't help but join in the laughter.

How long the two of them spent just laughing, Aki didn't knew. How mad they must have looked to anyone who happened to pass by.

Then, once they had both calmed down, they sat opposite each other in the ring of moonlight. Yuri's pot spirits bounced among them, the Traptrix on her side and the other two on his. A fifth pot plant had joined them, _Dandylion_ if she recognised the duel spirit correctly.

"I have half a mind to leave now." Yuri said. "The more time I spend with you, the more merit I find in Entertainment Dueling. But to do that would mean not even initiating this at all. Here."

A lump of dark grey cloth was passed to Aki with a pearl white mask, red streaked over the eyes like tears, lying on top.

"A costume?" Aki asked.

Nepenthes leaned over Aki's lap to get a better look. "What's it for?"

"When did you get it?" added Dionaea. "Where did you get it? I've never seen it before."

Apparently the Traptrix, despite being Yuri's spirits, were just as lost as Aki was in this situation. The other spirits, however, seemed to have a better idea on what was going on. Predaplants leered forward, jaws spread in wide grins. Dandylion, on the other hand, hopped away with face half-buried and groaning into its leafy arms.

"Oh no. Not this again." Dandylion said, its voice surprisingly deep. "I said I'd keep an eye out for the brat, not get messed up in his schemes. Damage control is the flying furball's job." The mutterings continued as the pot hopped off to another part of the garden.

"Uh...Danylion-san…?" Dionaea said softly.

"Oi! Dandylion!" Nepenthes called. "Where you headed?"

The spirit paused for a moment then turned. "I've dealt with this brat, his brothers and his uncle-cousin for long enough to know when I don't want to get involved. Do the smart thing, girls, and jump ship while you still can. Call me back when you're done 'plotting' Yuri-bonzu."

Aki was slightly taken aback as she watched the spirits retreating form fade from view. What exactly was Yuri planning?

The boy threw his hands up in mock defeat. "Fine. Fine. Disclaimer time, everybody. Leave now or forever hold your peace."

Black Rose growled slightly from her nested position but no other objections were made.

Yuri brought his hands together in a clasp in his lap. "So then. This will be the official team of attack."

"Attack on what?" Aki asked. Maybe now she could finally get the details to this madness.

"Attack on the bullies, of course." Yuri answered with a sly smile. "Don't you want revenge?"

"Revenge?" Aki said, shifting slightly. Her mind drifted back to her first sessions with Tenjoin-sensei, back when she was always alone and frustrated (not that much had changed over the years). "But won't that make us no better than them? Before, you stopped me from attacking them so-"

"Don't misunderstand, Izayoi- _senpai."_ Yuri interjected, his purple eyes narrowing. "I intervened to stop an excessive waste of power and potential, not to spare a group of snivelling lowlives. And the whole moral code and 'being the better man'...apologies for my language but that is utter bullshit. 'Morals' are an illusion, 'goodness' is subjective. The are simply concepts created by society to perpetuate the facade that humanity is good." He gave a sharp laugh, cruel and merciless and nothing like before. "Humans are evil and selfish creatures with some born to be better than others, case in point you and I. Compassion and restraint do nothing except make yourself a target for others to trample on. What you think is being a good person is nothing more than making yourself a pawn to be taken advantage of."

"Then why do you want to help me?" Aki questioned. "Doesn't that go against all your logic?"

"Because you are powerful," Yuri said plainly. "And it would be a crime to see such power go to waste. Besides, helping you now may earn me a favour in the future. So shall we shake on it? A partnership of mutual benefit."

Yuri extend his arm out to her and Aki eyed it warily. Working on this plan with this boy would mean betraying everything she had worked so hard to achieve with Tenjoin-sensei and Yuki-san. It would mean accepting that she was a monster, that Koda and the others were right to call her a witch. But it also mean finally standing up for herself.

Aki shook his hand.

A wide toothy grin spread across Yuri's face, some glowing runes and some thunder would have also been appropriate considering this was basically a deal with a devil.

"Now let the fun begin…"

{~~~}

Back in her first year, Aki had tried standing up for herself. Every cruel whisper was met with thorns, every cruel student faced her dragon. Her reputation had spread like wildfire throughout the campus. First the Witch with the Black Rose Dragon, later simplified to the Black Rose Witch. Back then she didn't care what other's thought of her. If she was a witch in their eyes then so be it.

Then, after one too many arenas were scorched by her flames, one too many students ended in the medical bay at the claws of her dragon, Aki was sent to Tenjoin-sensei. A teacher who was willing to listen, who didn't fear her and wanted what was best for her.

"You can't rule people with fear. You can't make friends with fear." Tenjoin-sensei had said. "You can be something better than that."

And Tenjoin-sensei helped her control her powers. With her help, Aki tried to be less destructive. She felt that she had control over her powers, control over herself, yet at the same time she felt so restrained. Tenjoin-sensei never had powers of any kind and Yuki-san, the 'specialist' that she had brought in, was far below her in power level.

There were no more injuries but the damage had been done. When Aki no longer lashed out on the student body, they retaliated. Koda was their vanguard, directly tormenting her at every given opportunity yet was subtle enough not to attract the attention of the teachers (not that they cared, they knew who she was and what she had done). The rumours of the Black Rose Witch never died away but grew stronger, passed down to each year like a boogie-story, growing more and more deadly with each iteration.

Aki wanted it all to go away. To take back the actions of her younger self and start clean, not to be constantly haunted by her foolish past.

Yuri, though, was something different. He was someone who understood her. He had more experience and confidence in his powers and had no fears of abusing them.

"This will he a grand show." the boy said. "And Koda will be our finale."

Yuri took what was established of the Black Rose's lore and twisted it into reality. Calculated attacks in the forests, spontaneous duels where she went all out and encouraging the whispers that she had hated so much to build her into something greater than life.

Aki should have been disgusted with all this but instead she felt empowered. Every cowering student, every lash of vines, gave her a confidence that restraint never did.

Looking back at Yuri, though, sometimes was like looking back at her past self. Angry and lost yet with more grounding and awareness in his abilities. Yuri was who Aki could have been if she had been more assertive and reckless. Yuri was her junior, her _kouhai_ for all definitions of the term _,_ and while he was 'helping' her, it was her job to stop him from making the same mistakes that she had.

{~~~}

 _To whom it may concern,_

 _I have no idea who you are and you have no idea who I am, but I know what you did. This is a letter of challenge. Meet me tomorrow at the beach and be ready to defend your honour as a duelist. I refuse to let your deeds go unpunished._


End file.
